Lost and Found

Last weekend Caroline came with me to Michigan for a family wedding and Howard and Tracey stayed in Colorado with Hubby.  It was the first time we have split up the twins for any length of time, and it did not go as smoothly as I expected.

Howard moves a mile a minute and always wants to keep up with Tracey, while Caroline does a lot of observing and then chooses her own activity.  Sometimes she'll play with her siblings while other times she's simply curl up in my lap or be content to do her own thing -- reading a book, playing in her little kitchen, or trying to find Lexie.

The difference between Caroline and Howard are why Hubby and I thought Caroline would do better on this trip with me because she is less rambunctious than Howard and often is content to cuddle in our laps.

What we did not factor into the genius travel plans is how lost Caroline would be without Howard or Tracey.

Granted, the trip to Michigan was a grueling trip -- two flights Friday, 6 hours in the car to a wedding Saturday, two flights Sunday -- it would have been hard on any child, but I felt like Caroline -- my Caroline, my daughter who I thought I was bringing with me, was missing the whole weekend.  She was incredibly clingy to me and would scream if I was out of her sight.  She didn't eat very much the entire weekend and just wasn't her usual happy self.

It wasn't until we arrived home -- and specifically she greeted Tracey and Howard that I saw my Caroline return.

She was completely lost without her brother and sister.  This is a concept of which I have no understanding because I've functioned as an only child my entire life.  Caroline, on the other hand, never even had the womb to herself, and then was born into a family of three children.  Add to that, she adores Tracey and Howard -- sure they take her toys sometimes and knock her over occasionally, but she is happiest when she is playing with one or both of her siblings.

Hubby and I still need to keep creating activities where one child goes with one parent so the children gain confidence a part from his or her siblings... but maybe not an entire weekend a part for awhile.