Car trouble kept Zack kicking his heels around here for about two weeks longer than he’d planned. He ended up getting a new car with help from his Uncle Tim. He hit the road the day before his birthday.
Happy Birthday, Zack! Hard to believe it’s been twenty five years of wacky zackiness.
The next day, Jay and I packed our own car and drove south. Because we can. This is the first time that our schedules and responsibilities allow us to take what looks like a spontaneous road trip. No kids, no ties…I just had to power squeeze three weeks worth of orders into two weeks and I could blow town with no guilt. I wouldn’t have felt guilty even if I hadn’t done that…the guilt wouldn’t have shown up until I couldn’t pay next month’s bills and even then the feeling would be less guilty than just plain pissed off. I know these things from experience.
So we jumped on 35 and drove. It was a beautiful, clear Sunday in September: the best possible driving conditions because of no traffic, no bad weather and most of the construction for the season was finished. We made excellent time and since Jay had packed us a lovely picnic we didn’t even have to stop to eat. It was fun. We got to Wichita just after dark and decided to stop since we were in no hurry. We had dinner and fell asleep because it turns out driving all day is more exhausting than you’d think. Also, Wichita is boring. No offense, W.
We slept well and had every intention of hitting the road early. I don’t know what happened but somehow we didn’t get out of town till around ten and we didn’t even eat breakfast first. The last time I drove this route, my folks and I had a terrific breakfast at a diner. Jay and I couldn’t find said diner so we got no delicious breakfast there. Just after noon, we reached Moore Oklahoma, which was in the news last week due to an unfortunate beheading.
That’s for a different post.
We stopped in Moore because we have friends there. They had lost their home in a tornado last year so we brought them some photos from a camp we’d all worked together 26 years ago on Cape Cod. Insurance built them a new house but couldn’t replace things like photos. It was great to see them again. Before we knew what had happened, we’d chatted away the entire afternoon. It wasn’t until we got back on the highway that we realized it was 4 p.m. and we hadn’t had breakfast yet.
Okay, I realized it before we actually got back on the highway but Jay didn’t realize it until I started chewing on his arm. We were hungry but not hungry enough to eat at McDonalds. We held out until we got to a place advertizing the best ham sandwiches in America. Truth in advertizing lives in Oklahoma.
We hit traffic coming through Dallas so we didn’t make it to the kid’s house until Babalouie was out for the night. Babydoll, who is a night owl anyway, was still up when we arrived and she was delighted to see us. It’s so much fun now that I know she really does remember us between visits. In the morning, Babalouie acted as though he had missed us dreadfully since he last saw us in August. He’s that charming.
Ty was out of town for the first few days of the week. This was unfortunate because we didn’t get to see him but fortunate for me because it meant the kids could stay home from day care and I could play with them all day. Now that Ty is working from his home office, this won’t work when he gets back home.
So Monday and Tuesday, I had Babydoll and Babalouie all to myself all day long. We had a blast! Babydoll wanted to eat whatever I did for breakfast and Babalouie is into oatmeal and baby food, all of which he seems to love, so it was easy. Then we played. We played in the livingroom, the bedrooms, the back deck, the back yard…Babalouie crashed before noon. Babydoll, of her own volition, crawled up onto her parent’s bed and conked out before we ate lunch. Both kids slept for over two hours. After that, we ate lunch and played in Babydoll’s room. She did my hair. It was spectacular. We played with everything she owned. Later, while dinner was being prepared, I heard her calling to me from her room. I went back and asked her what she needed.
“Look at my room, Nana!” she said, clearly upset.
“Yes?” I looked around. It looked like a toy volcano had erupted.
“My toys!” she cried. “They’re all over the place!”
“Yep.” I agreed. Then I went back to the kitchen, leaving her to clean her room by herself. She’s gotta learn sometime.
Playing with toddlers and infants all day is a ton of fun but it’s also the most exhausting thing imaginable.
Tuesday was great fun too but Babydoll had a melt down when I wouldn’t let her have her milk at lunch in one of Babalouie’s bottles. Yeah, I don’t know why, either. Stupid Nana. That was twenty minutes of unhappiness when it could have been unadulterated fun all day.
In addition to the horses, pony and dogs, Babydoll now has two kitties to play with. They’re a brother and sister who were born in the spring. She named them Betsy and Bailey, they’re both gray and white and they live in the barn. They sleep there at night and spend the day wrestling with each other, purring in Babydoll’s arms or playing with the dogs.
The animals all seem very happy in each other’s company. Both cats are very easy going and seem to enjoy being squeezed and dragged all over the yard by a two year old. One of their favorite games is to sneak into the house when a door is opened and being chased all over the house by Babydoll. She always catches them and puts them out and I don’t know who enjoys the process more.
Ty got home late last night from his business trip. Jay and I have been so exhausted that neither of us heard him come in even though the guest room is right next to the front of the house. The kids went back to day care today so I’m trying to use the peace, quiet and lack of distractions to get this blog back online.
Interesting side note: the first case of Ebola in the country is right up the road in Dallas. The poor guy, who never should have been allowed through customs, was probably getting checked in just as we were driving through town. Isn’t that a happy thought?
People keep bleating that we’re a nation of immigrants but back in the days when immigrants came through Ellis Island, if they didn’t pass a physical they weren’t allowed in. If they showed any signs of communicable diseases, particularly TB, they were sent right back where they came from. Now we just let Ebola walk right in to the heart of the country. We’d better all hope Dallas can handle it because with air traffic being what it is, what’s in Dallas today can be in DC and Sacramento by dinner time.
Beheadings and Ebola. Interesting times we live in.
I’m going to bake Ranger cookies this afternoon while the guys play golf. When the kids get home, I think I’ll take them for a walk.
Life is still good.