To Home From Home Again

On the 2nd of September my siblings, John and Mary, my son, Caleb (Monkey) and I trekked upwards and to the right towards the home of family and long-time friends. The drive took two solid days with one night's stay in a nice, shiny new hotel (thanks to military discounting) in Muskogee, OK (yes, just like the song).



Arrival to the cooler state brought the welcoming arms of family and friends, an excuse to drink coffee and eat sugary carbs in excess, sports such as volleyball, softball and scrabble, and a realization that apparently everyone has a garden except me.



The two week stay swiftly came to an end during which I had tagged along with my sister-in-law, Laura, to her writing class, taken Caleb to watch his first softball game, helped (well, more like watched) my sister-in-law, Bekah, make cinnamon rolls (best in town) and introduced Caleb to his grandma. It was a good visit.



A few realizations during my visit:



1. Caleb goes easily and willingly into the arms of any woman, but is suspicious if not terrified of most men - even ones related.

2. The above mentioned garden fad that I was not aware of.

3. The annoying fact that Caleb defiantly opposes me if I attempt to show him off. For the moment I try to coax some impressive act out of him in front of a crowd of expectant and intrigued onlookers, he plops down and starts drooling. As I'm trying my best to defend him and myself, he's gnawing through one of his shoes.

4. Indiana Farmers are hotter than Texas Cowboys. Though I could still be just a little bitter about not having actually seen a Texas Cowboy yet...

5. Caleb is a drama queen and a neat freak.

6. I miss my hubby a lot when we're apart. Deployments will suck. - That's not actually a new realization but worth noting.

For the more visual ones, here is a photo:

Caleb and me at the Fort Wayne zoo. We went with my husband's brother, Luke, his wife, Bekah and their two boys. Luke is cursed (or blessed, depending) with A.D.D. much like me, but worse, so we made it through the zoo in record time.

I returned to Texas on the 16th via two short plane rides and one agonizingly long one. Though Caleb made it difficult during the flight, the hardest and most nerve racking part was changing planes, scheduled a matter of minutes apart from each other. Having not enough time to strap Caleb into the stroller, I was forced to race across both airports carrying everything in my arms. A backpack clinging to my shoulder by one strap, Caleb, his teddy bear, sippy cup and diaper bag in one hand and the useless umbrella stroller clutched in the other, I ran as fast as my poor choice of attire (a close fitting, knee-length denim skirt) would allow. It was a long, exhausting day with no time for food other than a few snacks, a tired child unable to sleep, and toddler spit-up at the most inconvenient times.

Its good to be home again.