Oh, Hello There! Didja Miss Me?

We're back from vacation. It was way too short and not terribly restful, but vacation=Amy gets to sleep past 6:30am, which is really all I need to make life worth living. LT and I decided to forego the Big Vacation this year because we're getting ready to plan an addition to the house, and we need to fatten up the savings account a little before we go doubling the size of our house. So, we drove out to P-town for a few days. We stayed at the Provincetown Inn, which was the only place that still had rooms available and would allow us to bring the kidlet. We usually stay at the Brass Key or the Benchmark Inn, but neither allow children, so... Anyhoo, the P-Town Inn was an okay alternative if I don't think about the rock-hard beds, the sandpaper towels, the completely clogged tub drain, or the fact that the toilet was loose and actually tipped over a bit if I leaned too far (unsettling, to say the least). It was definitely NOT four star lodging. There was a nice mix of gay and straight families and couples, and the pool was really nice. They advertise a private beach, but it was low tide and all mud flats between the sand and the water. Fine for digging clams. Not so much for anything else. We were far enough from the craziness of Commercial street that it was quiet, but close enough to walk. A couple of drag queens made a fuss over kidlet's "fierce" sunglasses, and she was absolutely transfixed by them. She waved and smiled and chatted and made me want to choke myself for having left the camera in the car. It was very nice to be among "my people" and to feel completely normal and at ease being a family. I spend a lot of energy being on the lookout for a dirty look, or a rude stare, or for something to be said. I know that the day will come when kidlet will have to deal with the reality of her family and that there are stupid people all over the place, but I'm just not ready for it yet. I cringe every time someone asks which of us is the mother, and I always brace myself for the fallout when I answer (honestly: we're both her mothers). The fact that there really has been no fallout doesn't decrease my anxiety, but maybe someday I will learn to chill. Until that day, it's nice to be able to leave my worries behind and take a 2 hour drive to a place where drag queens roam wild and 2 women pushing a stroller can just be Mom.