I think I’d mentioned in part 1 of this travelogue that the reason I was in Spain to begin with was for work, but the reason I was in Barcelona specifically was to visit old friends. My last night in town, I stayed with Diana and Jordi, at their condo in a small town in the suburbs. Diana and I have known each other since high school. She was a foreign exchange student at the Catholic school in my home town (Grand Island, Nebraska), and even though I went to a different school, we had many friends in common and saw each other often.
Diana and Jordi have adorable 2-year-old twins named Claudia and Eric. They are very sweet and outgoing, doling out hugs and kisses on demand. They are physically pretty small – smaller than other 2-year-olds, but my guess is that this is purely genetic, since Diana is also tiny. Therefore, I was a bit surprised when Diana told me that their pediatrician said she should be very concerned with the amount of food they are eating. As a first-time parent, I remember taking to heart what my pediatrician said. My son is also tiny for his age – he is very tall but VERY skinny – always has been. But so was his father (skin and bones, practically, until he turned 30), which is why we don’t worry about it. I felt bad that my friend was waking several times during the night to get bottles for her kids. She felt she needed to do this because of what the pediatrician said, even though any experienced parent would say that’s bullsh*t and the kids should be sleeping at night, not getting up several times to drink milk. But alas, we all have our parenting challenges, so who am I to judge? I am annoyed at that pediatrician, though. I’ve seen other friends struggle with what to do on occasion because their instinct told them to do something other than what the pediatrician said.
And the funny thing is that their kids actually eat pretty well – maybe even better than mine! We had tapas from a local restaurant that night, and they both ate tortilla Espanola, fried calamari, and croquettes. Didn’t seem to me to have any reason to be concerned. If my kids ever ate a fried squid, I would fall off my chair!
One of the things that stunned me about my friends’ parenting style was the liberty they give their kids with the iPad. Each had their own iPad, and they played with them pretty much non-stop the entire time I was there. Granted, I wasn’t there long, it was a weekend, I was probably disrupting their normal schedule, and their being distracted with the iPad left more time for us adults to converse. Still, it made me wonder what iPad usage or screen time in general looks like on average for Spanish families with preschoolers. What does it look like on average in the US? I haven’t done any research to see if there’s been a recent study about this, though my guess is that if one isn’t already done, it’s in progress.
After leaving Barcelona, I spent the next week in meetings in Madrid. Now that I’m back home and summer is already coming to an end, I feel like those four days alone in Barcelona were so long ago. For a super fleeting moment in time I was able to not be on a schedule and just enjoy the moment. We parents all need some time and space like this. And it doesn’t have to mean going off to some far away place or spending a lot of money on a vacation. Finding this kind of peace will look different for every person. For me, four days was a perfect amount of time, though for others, may just a day or two is sufficient. Either way, feeling that kind of freedom did wonders for my spirit.
Here are a few more observations I made along the way:
Have you ever seen a fish counter with so many different varieties of fresh shrimp?
Or a deli with so many different kinds of cured ham and sausage?
I met a designer who makes these amazing hand-sewn outfits for babies and toddlers and am kicking myself for not getting her contact information. I gave her my card and told her I wanted to feature her products on the blog, but so far I haven’t heard from her. My advice is that if you are traveling and come across things like these, don’t miss the opportunity to snatch them up!
A baby in the bottom basket of the snap-n-go? I thought this was sort of strange too, but maybe they know something we don’t!
Thanks for reading. Please share your experiences with about the places you’ve traveled and observations you’ve made while there. – Kim