Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Journey -- Days 4 and 5 -- Kansas City
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| Merry, Alys and baby , Mom, Pippa |
Our original plan included a stop in Columbus, Ohio where my sister, Alys, lives. But, in an exciting change for them, her husband was just offered a position teaching elementary and middle-school orchestra for a district in Overland Park, Kansas and Alys needed to use the weekend we were going to be together to find housing for her family in Kansas. So we changed our plans so that she could undertake her house hunt and we could still see her. I had planned to drive through Iowa, but going through Missouri and Kansas works just as well! |
| Me and the kids with Mom, Alys and Cousin E and family |
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| Playing in the Hotel |
The kids enjoyed our hotel room, which had the unusual addition of a window seat, and, although tornados passed through the area the night we were there, we stayed safe and sound.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Day Three -- Bloomington, Bugs and Bowels
Hurrah for fabulous friends! Our one night in Bloomington was spent with some of my favorite people. We enjoyed good food, good company (Pippa and Merry had a blast with the younger family members while I was blessed to enjoy grown-up conversation time) and, after a rough start, a great night's sleep. Thank you, thank you to the wonderful Jackson family for all their hospitality!
J hoped that while we were in Bloomington that I would take the kids to WonderLab, a children's science museum where J volunteered while at IU. Some of my favorite memories of dating J are connected to WonderLab. One Saturday, just as our friendship was turning into something more serious, J asked me out on a secret date -- it turned out that he had scheduled us to work at WonderLab's annual 'BubbleFest'. We spent the day together helping kids (and a few adults) play with bubbles of every shape and size and I think it was there in the bubbles that I first really fell in love. Later J took me to the museum to introduce me to his favorite hissing cockroaches. He got someone to get one out for us so I could hold it, put his own hand beneath mine and gently kept me from squishing the hideous creature -- who would imagine that I would ever have a fond memory that involved a cockroach? And now our children have had the chance to squirm away and refuse to look at the relatives of that very bug that played a role in their parent's courtship . . .
Our visit to WonderLab was fantastic. The kids enjoyed playing with the bubbles, in the water course, with various building blocks, and, even though they would not even get close to the cockroaches, both kids got to pet a snake. Unfortunately things ended in a bit of a screaming and crying crisis. I spent a month preparing for this trip and I thought I was prepared for everything. I was a bit worried about traveling with a newly-trained potty goer and went so far as to buy a travel potty for our car, but somehow I neglected to think about what would happen when young bowels met up with hours in the car, strange locations and travel food. What happens, apparently, is not much. Merry went just three days without a movement, but for Merry, who has had problems with elimination since he was an infant, even one day is too long. When things finally started moving we were, thankfully, on the last exhibit, but even so, carrying your screaming child out of a museum is never fun. (As an aside, Pippa had problems too and went 6 days without a movement . . . next time we're starting fiber gummies before we leave!)
And so, on that happy note, our Bloomington time was over. Both kids left the museum grumpy, Merry for obvious reasons and Pippa because Merry's bowel movement ended our visit rather abruptly. I was planning on visiting at least one of Bloomington's fabulous restaurants before we left, but there was no way I was dragging two grumpy (and tired) kids with me, so we dropped by Taco Bell on the way out of town, got gas at the gas station around the corner from the house where J and I lived for the first three months of our married life, and drove off into the sunset . . .
Next stop St. Louis . . .
J hoped that while we were in Bloomington that I would take the kids to WonderLab, a children's science museum where J volunteered while at IU. Some of my favorite memories of dating J are connected to WonderLab. One Saturday, just as our friendship was turning into something more serious, J asked me out on a secret date -- it turned out that he had scheduled us to work at WonderLab's annual 'BubbleFest'. We spent the day together helping kids (and a few adults) play with bubbles of every shape and size and I think it was there in the bubbles that I first really fell in love. Later J took me to the museum to introduce me to his favorite hissing cockroaches. He got someone to get one out for us so I could hold it, put his own hand beneath mine and gently kept me from squishing the hideous creature -- who would imagine that I would ever have a fond memory that involved a cockroach? And now our children have had the chance to squirm away and refuse to look at the relatives of that very bug that played a role in their parent's courtship . . . |
| Rose (a long way) in front of cockroaches. |
And so, on that happy note, our Bloomington time was over. Both kids left the museum grumpy, Merry for obvious reasons and Pippa because Merry's bowel movement ended our visit rather abruptly. I was planning on visiting at least one of Bloomington's fabulous restaurants before we left, but there was no way I was dragging two grumpy (and tired) kids with me, so we dropped by Taco Bell on the way out of town, got gas at the gas station around the corner from the house where J and I lived for the first three months of our married life, and drove off into the sunset . . .
Next stop St. Louis . . .
Monday, May 23, 2011
Day Two -- A LONG drive through Ohio and an attack of nostalgia . . .
We had another 6+ hour drive and after today I am really glad that my two longest days were my first two days . . . amazing how much longer 6 hours feels the second time (and, since I am actually writing this post on day 6, I can report that even our recent 4 hour days feel longer than the original 6 . . . of course day one was also driving through the beautiful 'mountains' and valleys of West Virginia, whereas our other drives have been through Ohio and Missouri -- which have their own kind of beauty, but . . . ). I was exhausted after my long nights on Tuesday and Wednesday so, once Pip and Merry fell asleep, I pulled over in the parking lot of an empty gas station and took a little nap myself -- what a difference an hour of sleep makes!
The kids were amazing! Again. No fights, minimal whining, lots of quiet playing, lots of singing, lots of questions.
Our destination tonight was the home of dear friends in Bloomington, Indiana. Jason was the chair of my thesis committee at the University of Oklahoma and later, after I had moved on to the PhD program at IU, joined the faculty there. (I got my favorite professor in two different programs at two different universities, how great is that!) And while I lived in Bloomington I got the chance to know his amazing wife (and to babysit their beautiful daughter). The time I spent myself in Bloomington was one of those powerful, definitive moments of my life. I can't fully explain what those two years meant to me. I have never felt more capable, more attractive, more liked than I did then. I had the BEST roommate (my little sister) and met the best man, who later became my amazing husband! At the same time, after a two-year reprieve, my last year in Bloomington was when my depression really took hold again . . . With these powerful memories in mind, I found the last hour of our drive on Thursday a very emotional experience. Over and over I found my throat constricting and my eyes clouding over . . .
I was so excited to be back, but what I really wanted was to be back THEN -- only I didn't, because I wanted to be here and now.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
The Journey -- Day One
So I didn't sleep much Tuesday night. It was half Christmas-eve-itis and half abject terror. But, even without a great night sleep, Wednesday came and with it the start of our great adventure.
We began the day with our good friends at the graduation party for Pippa's Little Monkey's Preschool. What a fun year we have had! We mothers took turns teaching our five little monkeys and the kids got a chance to learn and play together.
As soon as graduation was over, I gathered my monkey and her brother (luckily they were very excited to leave), strapped them in and off we went!
Today's trip was a long-ish one -- almost 7 hours of driving through Maryland and West Virginia -- and, because of graduation I wasn't able to get on the road until about 11:30. I had already made hotel reservations in Marietta, Ohio and I wanted to get there before too late . . . all in all, after a long night and a hectic morning, I was pretty frazzled and grumpy by the time we were actually on our way and then, just as we were getting onto I-95, the rain hit -- buckets and torrents and blinding waves of precipitation -- just great . . .
There is something about the open road, though -- the storm moved on and we were on our way. The kids were happily playing on their new travel desks and trying to out-sing each other and, just like the clouds, my mood lifted.
The kids were FABULOUS today. Very little trauma and lots of laughing and singing and sleeping!
The weather was terrible. We passed through blinding downpours about 6 times over the course of the day, but they never lasted too long and we made it safely through.
We reached Marietta at about 6:30 pm -- not a bad time at all, especially considering the weather -- and checked into our hotel. We're staying at the Lafayette -- an old (and supposedly haunted) hotel on the shore of the Ohio River. Our room is tiny -- two twin beds a desk and a dresser with just enough room on the floor for the kids (Pippa decided she wanted to sleep in her sleeping bag rather than on the bed) -- with lots of character. The furniture is all heavy, elaborately carved, Victorian. The bathroom is as tiny as the room with a deep, turquoise-blue, bathtub and a toilet you have to sit sideways to fit on.
Outside there is a little park and a walk along the river. I almost wish we could stay longer!
The kids had a hard time falling asleep -- about 10:30 for Merry and a bit later for Pippa -- but once they went down they both slept well and I slept pretty well too -- until Pip woke me up at 6:50 -- doesn't she know vacations are for sleeping in? (She is probably thinking what I once thought about my parents -- "doesn't she know there are exciting things to do?") And so there are!
We're on our way to Indiana today. Another 6+ hour drive, but we have more flexibility today and the weather looks much better!
We'll check back in tomorrow!
We began the day with our good friends at the graduation party for Pippa's Little Monkey's Preschool. What a fun year we have had! We mothers took turns teaching our five little monkeys and the kids got a chance to learn and play together.
As soon as graduation was over, I gathered my monkey and her brother (luckily they were very excited to leave), strapped them in and off we went!
Today's trip was a long-ish one -- almost 7 hours of driving through Maryland and West Virginia -- and, because of graduation I wasn't able to get on the road until about 11:30. I had already made hotel reservations in Marietta, Ohio and I wanted to get there before too late . . . all in all, after a long night and a hectic morning, I was pretty frazzled and grumpy by the time we were actually on our way and then, just as we were getting onto I-95, the rain hit -- buckets and torrents and blinding waves of precipitation -- just great . . .
There is something about the open road, though -- the storm moved on and we were on our way. The kids were happily playing on their new travel desks and trying to out-sing each other and, just like the clouds, my mood lifted.
The kids were FABULOUS today. Very little trauma and lots of laughing and singing and sleeping!
The weather was terrible. We passed through blinding downpours about 6 times over the course of the day, but they never lasted too long and we made it safely through.
We reached Marietta at about 6:30 pm -- not a bad time at all, especially considering the weather -- and checked into our hotel. We're staying at the Lafayette -- an old (and supposedly haunted) hotel on the shore of the Ohio River. Our room is tiny -- two twin beds a desk and a dresser with just enough room on the floor for the kids (Pippa decided she wanted to sleep in her sleeping bag rather than on the bed) -- with lots of character. The furniture is all heavy, elaborately carved, Victorian. The bathroom is as tiny as the room with a deep, turquoise-blue, bathtub and a toilet you have to sit sideways to fit on. Outside there is a little park and a walk along the river. I almost wish we could stay longer!
The kids had a hard time falling asleep -- about 10:30 for Merry and a bit later for Pippa -- but once they went down they both slept well and I slept pretty well too -- until Pip woke me up at 6:50 -- doesn't she know vacations are for sleeping in? (She is probably thinking what I once thought about my parents -- "doesn't she know there are exciting things to do?") And so there are!
We're on our way to Indiana today. Another 6+ hour drive, but we have more flexibility today and the weather looks much better!
We'll check back in tomorrow!
The Journey -- Getting Ready
I spent the day Tuesday packing. Since I am traveling alone with the kids, I need a packing method that will be as simple to use on the road as possible. I decided that rather than packing our large suitcases I would pack each day in a separate bag -- I used extra-extra large ziploc bags and similar sized bags from Dollar Tree. Each bag contains pajamas, clothes for the next day, and nighttime diapers for Sam. Our toiletries and other items that we need each night (our storybooks and cuddly toys) I packed into a medium-sized duffle bag. There is just enough room left in the duffle so that each day I can switch out the day-bags. That way I only have to carry in one bag each night and it only has the things I actually need in it.
I did a similar thing with our toys for the trip. For each day I packed a ziploc bag with coloring books, small bags of toys, and other goodies that I can distribute throughout the day.
By Tuesday night I was pretty exhausted, and the final stages of my packing were less careful and orderly -- which means I may have to spend some time on the trip re-organizing -- but at least I have the toys and clothing and toiletries under control . . . for now.
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