We're Home

I looked through my pictures to pick a few for this post, but none seem quite right. I'll put some at the end, but they're not exactly related to this.

The drive home was uneventful. We drove. And drove. We stayed at a Days Inn for $45 that seemed pretty clean at 11:00 when we went to sleep and at 7:00 when we woke up; really, we were awake for under one hour in the room. (Here would be a good place for a picture I know Jason has. C'est la vie.)

Our visit went really well. There's something nice about seeing my children playing with so many of my family's children. Our quirkiness stood out at times, but the things I actually worry about (temper, boundaries, selective deafness) all seemed to blend right in with the things the other children were doing.

We saw Ray and Stacey in a play. I talked to my aunt for hours. The children got to swim and wade. I helped start a little garden. I saw just about everyone I hoped to see for almost long enough.

Now we're home. And we slipped right back into this place I love so much that lacks my dear family but abounds in people I hold dear. We started our first day back in a perfect way- we went to a pie breakfast at Woodbury elementary. I wished I had a camera, as it so typified my feelings about where I live. We were in a cafeteria that had a wooden floor with basketball boundaries painted on it. There were so many people in that little room having pie for breakfast (proceeds benefit the local library). Outside, the sun was shining, promising spring, and inside, everyone chatted and drank coffee and waited their turn and made room for the newcomers. It was a great welcome home.
Riverwalk 
 Cousins
More Cousins

A Good Tool

I've been trying to figure out how to praise all the tools I really appreciate, but I have not come up with a truly satisfactory way. So, I'll try an occasional post when I am feeling particularly pleased.

This post is about my shoes.

As the children and I were heading out to the car for our trek to Texas, I was quickly putting on a very functional, completely unloved pair of sport shoes. Jason pointed out there might be snow for awhile and that I should wear boots if I did not want to drive with wet feet. So, I grabbed my much-loved, fleece-lined boots and off I went.

I realized in Cincinnati that I did not actually pack those very functional shoes. I realized in Texas that I did not even pack my Birkenstocks. Indeed, the only shoes I have in Texas are the winter boots and these:

Since I've been here, these shoes have proved their worth. I've walked for hours around the Botanic Garden in them; I've dug a flowerbed; I've fetched and shoveled compost; I've walk a mile in a park; and I've felt pretty cute the whole time. My feet are not as happy as they would be if I had my Keen sandals with me, but nothing aches and the shoes look surprisingly good.

So, I'm raising a glass to my Dansko clogs.

An interesting thing

(to me, at least)

As we go from place to place, seeing these people we know and love, I find myself sitting quietly and knitting.

One person on the first leg of our trip asked if I was excited to show people my most magnificent and perfect children (that's not a direct quote). I said I liked letting my children show themselves and excusing myself from so much interaction. And that's just what has happened.

I like listening to the stories the children tell, the pretend ones as well as the child versions of my own stories. I like the way they seem so confident as they engage these loved ones we see so rarely. I feel like I am able to keep up over the 2000 miles with long phone calls and occasional letters but the children do much better in person. Sylvie now knows the difference between Aunt G and Aunt Stacey; she knows Honey and Poppy are not both girls. Phaedra knows how Poppy is related to Aunt Caitlin. And Ezra just feels more certain of how he stands in the eyes of these important people. That's not my business.

I'm just facilitating. I want everyone to get a chance to spend time together, long enough to carry memories over the next stretch of time. So I'll quietly knit while the children get to know their family.

A Treat

We had a lovely day outside. We went to the Amon Carter Museum and then to the Botanic Garden.

I really like the Amon Carter Museum; the permanent collection always surprises me. Today, my favorite painting was one of ships near a sandy coast as a storm is blowing in. I think it was a painting of Narragansett  Bay. I like the light in that painting. The children seemed to unanimously prefer the more "real" looking paintings over the more abstract, modern ones.

At the Botanic Garden, we saw some signs of spring, like the saucer magnolia had blooms beginning to open. We also found the hollow tree sort of like the house in My Side of the Mountain. There was a surprising amount of snow damage; some pathways were even obstructed.

Then, Grammy and Pops were willing to have the children spend the night.

And here's the treat-

I went out to dinner all by myself and I had Mexican food. There was an enchilada and half a taco and some rice with nice spicy salsa over the top and a few beans and some guacamole. That's definitely one thing I miss about Texas. But as I sat there, savoring my solitary meal, I was thinking about Vermont and wondering how well our plan will work and whether we'll get even half through it this year. I was homesick for cold wet, snowy Vermont as I ate Mexican food with the sun blaring in on a 65 degree spring day.

So far, so good

Our visit is going really well. We had a great, though brief, time in Cincinnati with the dear Domkes. We went to the children's museum there, and if you find yourself in Cincinnati with time on your hands I highly recommend that museum complex.

It was funny- as we drove I kept thinking we would see the end of the snow. But New York had lots of snow and that corner of Pennsylvania had lots of snow and there was still lots of snow as we started through Ohio. Then, right around Columbus, the snow seemed to decrease. Cincinnati had snow but still less. BY the time we got to Louisville, the snow was gone from the ground, but we were still driving in snowfall. Then the snow turned to rain by the time we got to Nashville. In Memphis, it had quit raining, but the clouds didn't break until we got to Texas. We saw a truly lovely sunset as we headed west out of Texarkana.

Some funny kid things-
Phaedra noted that Nirvana and The Pogues sound rough and angry, but Sinead O'Connor is sharp and stern.
Ezra pointed out just west of Texarkana that "There are lots more houses with wheels here."

We made it to Cincinnati

And I knew it was all going to be fine when Little Miss Sunshine began singing "Do You Realize" before we got to Woodbury.

Preparing for the Trip

We leave day after tomorrow for Texas, and the plans are well underway. Elmer will go with Jason to work for the next two weeks so that he will not be lonely. Many thanks to Temple Grandin for helping me convince him of this necessity. Doby the budgerigar will go to a friend's house tomorrow, the same friend Elmer will stay with when Jason joins us in Texas (Many thanks, Friend!). Another friend will tend the cats when Jason leaves.

Jason is making scones for breakfast tomorrow morning so that we can take the leftovers with us Sunday morning. The plan is to leave very early (6:00?) Sunday morning and arrive in Cincinnati Sunday night along this route. It will be a long day but it will be worth it to not have to deal with a motel and then getting back in the car the next morning. Then, we'll spend Monday in Cincinnati recuperating and gearing up for another day of driving. I hope the weather is fine and we go to one of the many superb parks Cincinnati has to offer. But, there is also a truly awesome museum with a children's section that works for everyone from little Oliver to big Ezra. That would be a fine place to spend the day.

Then, Tuesday morning bright and early, we hit the road again. This time my goal is to make it to Gina's house this way. It will be another really long day, but then we'll be in Texas and the fun can begin.