Not Asleep

Mr. TOF, Peanut Maximus and I spent the weekend in Ely. Mr. TOF had a baseball tournament, and since four games were spread out over two days, we elected to spend the night at a hotel rather than trying to drive back and forth, since long drives with a small person tend to be difficult.

The small person was more than thrilled to be sleeping in a hotel. It was a budget hotel, no frills. There was not even a swimming pool, but since he has no memory of being in a hotel with a swimming pool, he didn’t know he was missing anything!

The weather was HOT and the bugs were thick, so by the time we got to the hotel we were sweaty and grimy and pretty tired. We ended up with the wrong kind of hotel room. It was supposed to have a kitchenette, but it did not, just a microwave and fridge. However, Mr. TOF could still make two bowls of comfort ramen (we improvised a bit on the dishes situation since we had only brought some plastic plates and bowls with us from our camping stash) and after a quick rinse in the bathtub and a few picture books (of course we brought a large bag of picture books!) it was time to tuck Peanut Maximus in.

We tucked him in. Then I attempted to read my book and promptly fell asleep. (The heat! The bugs! Managing a preschooler at two baseball games! Exhausting!) Mr. TOF read a little more and started falling asleep when he had the wherewithal to turn out the lights in the hotel room.

Peanut Maximus was still not asleep. Even in the dark he kept rummaging around building nests on the floor with pillows and blankets and reading picture books with a book light he snuck out of my backpack. Meanwhile the big people were basically comatose except when periodically shaken to answer a multitude of questions and facilitate trips to the potty.

At last, in the middle of the night Peanut Maximus finally zonked out. And then I spent the rest of the night periodically waking up because I was sleeping in a strange place.

Nevertheless, it was early to rise for my little rooster who always gets up at the crack of dawn. We had breakfast. We had more books. We packed up (and Peanut Maximus unpacked everything I was packing) and played Picture Bendominoes multiple times while Mr. TOF kept sleeping until the last minute. He has a special talent for sleeping anywhere and through anything.

Then it was off for more baseball games and playing at the park. Peanut Maximus was happy to tell everyone he encountered that he had spent the night in a hotel! And when the second day of baseball was completed, guess who was hopping mad that we were ready to drive home instead of spending a second night in the hotel? It was an epic tantrum that lasted for the first 40 miles of the drive before he could get a hold of himself. “I’m sure we can find the money! Don’t worry, we can figure it out! We need that hotel! Take me back! Turn this car around! You are going the WRONG WAY!!!!”