When we spent a long Fourth of July weekend at the Red Jacket Mountain View Resort in New Hampshire in 2006, my daughter was just 3-3/4, but she was invited to participate in the Mountain Magic Children's Program. All day, she asked repeatedly if it was time to go to the children's program yet, but the Red Jacket's program--which includes dinner--is held in the evenings. She could hardly wait, but I approached the whole thing with trepidation; I'd never left my little girl on her own while we were far from home.
The drop-off went well; she immediately became engrossed in a T-shirt decorating project, and the young employees supervising the program seemed attentive and enthusiastic. So, my husband and I headed to the resort's casual restaurant. It seemed oddly indulgent to be sipping drinks on the mountainview balcony, and I checked my watch nervously. At 7:30, we finally decided to see how she was doing. She burst into tears the moment she saw us.
She was fine, of course--just distressed that she might have to leave before the movie! When I explained that we were just checking on her, she brightened immediately, said, "Bye-BYE, Mommy," and walked away! Yes, it broke my heart a little. But I was also proud of her independent spirit and pleased that we'd managed to find some rare adult time while on the road.
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