Our driver took us for a day trip to Antigua today. Antigua is the third capital of Guatemala, from 1543 to 1773, and is famous for its Baroque-style architecture from that period. It has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site since then and is the capital of the Sacatepequez Department (or state). You can feel the aura of Spanish colonial times while walking the cobbled streets here. A number of ruins have survived that you can visit, as well as plazas with large fountains and multiple cathedrals. The city is flanked by multiple volcanos, including Agua Volcano, Fuego Volcano, and Acatenango Volcano. Antigua, like the town of San Juan La Laguna, is also colorful and very picturesque. It definitely had the most number of tourists of all the areas we have visited thus far on this trip.
One thing I will say about cobbled streets: they are absolutely NOT ideal for a stroller. I am not even completely certain I would call all of these cobbled streets “cobbled.” A lot of the “cobbles” look like they were just broken stones or rocks that were never properly repaired, which is fine if you are going for an old colonial feel, but pretty terrible if you are pushing a wheeled device. We also walked up about 10-15 minutes to Cerro de la Cruz, a beautiful view point of Antigua and its volcanoes. The cobbled streets and the steps to get up to this viewpoint prevented us from letting Kaia sit in the stroller for most of this visit to Antigua, and she was definitely not a happy camper. She demanded all day to sit in the stroller and would whine and whinge endlessly when we told her she couldn’t sit on it. This meant she had to walk more, which most definitely tired her out, but at least it meant she was active and would sleep well in the evening. I have a video of her protesting walking up to the viewpoint, as well as several videos of Chris running away with the stroller while Kaia is trying to catch up to sit on it. I hope these make for future laughs when she is older and can look back on her younger self, refusing to move.
Another thing about being a toddler mom, or a mother in general: I think I just have to keep telling and reminding myself that it doesn’t matter how much I do or what I do or sacrifice for my child… because no matter what, they will never “repay” me to match it (mind you, I never expected this anyway), nor will they ever express the “gratitude” that we may think we deserve. Every time I asked Kaia to pose and take a picture with Daddy, she was happy to do so. She would pose, smile, and look at me and my phone taking the photo. Multiple times when Chris attempted to photograph me with Kaia, she refused, yelling, screaming, and crying. She said she didn’t want to take a photo with me. Chris got several classic shots of my posing and smiling, with Kaia very visibly screaming and/or attempting to run away from me.
It’s okay. I accept it. Sometimes, I laugh it off. Other times, I actually do feel a little hurt. It doesn’t matter what a mother does, but a child will never fully, completely appreciate it, even after s/he may have their own child in the future. I am sure my own mother feels the same way about me. And the cycle continues. C’est la vie.