We've been talking about taking a Caribbean vacation this winter, which would be the first "fancy" vacation we've taken since our three-year-old was born. I made an appointment for today to submit my son's passport application at the post office, got all the documentation and photocopies together, and waited in line behind everyone mailing their Christmas packages.

What I hadn't counted on was my son melting down when it was time to take the photo. He just curled up in a ball on the floor, and the most we could get out of him was that he wanted a drink from the convenience store first? (We had said we'd get one on the way home.) There was no way to get him calm enough to sit still for the photo, so we had to leave. And it's just so frustrating and disappointing to me, to know we've got to do this all over again, push back the timeline on getting an expedited passport, and there's no guarantee that he'll be okay next time.

My wife's theory is that it may just have been that we didn't communicate what he should expect from the appointment ("before we do / something new / we'll talk about what we'll do" 🐯). And I think that's valid. Or maybe it was harder because it was in a crowded place? He's been okay with doctor's appointments for a while, or getting shots at the pharmacy, so it just hadn't occurred to me that having a photo taken would be a trigger. And I'm upset that it upsets me this much. I know that setbacks like this are normal for parenting a preschooler, but I'm not used to "give up and go home" level setbacks with him, and it hits me hard.