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we survived
Oct. 19th, 2004 08:08 am.
Newport News to Tyson's Corner, in a Honda, with the kid. It was CapClave weekend, and we'd been working on Sarah for some time, stressing the fact that we were going to a HOTEL with a POOL. Cathy timed the trip so we could hopefully put Sarah in the car and have her drift off to Slumberland without a lot of ado. Still, there has to be at least some ado, or what's the point?
Sarah's FAQ: These are the questions she asked over and over. Where's the hotel? We drive to hotel? We swim in the pool? Are we going home? Where's the hotel? Do we eat food now? Where's the road? I have to go pee! I don't see the hotel!
Cathy had put Sarah in some pull-ups, reasoning that this would alleviate some of the pressure of the road. Sarah, however, was resolutely opposed to using her pull-ups in this way, and we found the first rest stop. Sarah didn't like the noisy potties there (I have this on Cathy's authority. I luxuriated in a stall in the Gent's, thrilled at being all by myself at such a time.) Sarah did like the vending machine, especially after I put in money and got some of her snack mix, thus forever associating rest stop with snack mix. One day we'll go to a rest stop with no snack mix, and then there'll be trouble.
Anyway, we reached the hotel in decent time; saw nobody to talk to, and went to bed. Next day we rose with the sun -- or such rays of the sun as we were unable to prevent from filtering into the room, anyway -- had a breakfast that, sadly, could be beat, and then I took Sarah into the pool. Lucky for us, it had steps in one end, just like the last pool we'd been in, so Sarah had her activities all figured out. She sat or lay on the top step, sometimes journeying down to the next one. One time she let me carry her down the length of the pool on my shoulder. We encountered Mary Kay and Jordin, who declined our indefinite lunch offer, so we went off on our own and found a "New York Deli" that had a nice potato-and-beef cutlet sandwich. We ate while Sarah passed the time being a kid. We also kept getting her and bringing her back.
We were having more success in finding people. By this time we'd located Bud and Mary, for instance. The Saturday supper was set aside for a common anniversary meal with the Stileses, who had wed on roughly the same calendar date as us. When dinner time came and we hadn't found them yet, we reluctantly headed to the cafe in the hotel, reasoning that they might come in and find us there. If we waited too long, Sarah would have melted down. Steve and Elaine showed up as we were done eating, and went off to find sustenance on their own -- traffic had thwarted their attempts, and we hadn't waited for them.
That evening was the RASFF party in Marilee's room. I was set up with my keyboard and starting to play when Sarah needed to go to bed, so I packed up and left the party. About an hour later, at 11, Sarah was breathing quietly and my breathing had gotten a bit less labored, so I forced myself to my feet and back to the party. Steve and Elaine had departed. Ted had gone off as well. I chatted with Bud and Mary and Marilee and Mary Kay. Mary Kay peeled off in search of horizontality. At 12:30 the party was declared at an end, and Bud and I chatted in his room for a while until Mary decreed that that party was over as well. Rather than continue elsewhere, we dissolved the evening and I went tipcrashing into bed.
Up bright and early on Sunday, we ate again and then Sarah and I pooled it again. A couple more sweeps through lobby and hallways indicated we had probably reached the end of jolly times for the year, so we made a final assault on the dealer's room and drove across the pike to the Borders, where we had a light repast and I purchased some CDs. The drive home was fairly quiet and uneventful with the usual slow traffic for a while. Sarah slept on and off.
Now she keeps asking if we'll stay in a hotel again. We undoubtedly will, so she gets her wish; lucky child.
.
Newport News to Tyson's Corner, in a Honda, with the kid. It was CapClave weekend, and we'd been working on Sarah for some time, stressing the fact that we were going to a HOTEL with a POOL. Cathy timed the trip so we could hopefully put Sarah in the car and have her drift off to Slumberland without a lot of ado. Still, there has to be at least some ado, or what's the point?
Sarah's FAQ: These are the questions she asked over and over. Where's the hotel? We drive to hotel? We swim in the pool? Are we going home? Where's the hotel? Do we eat food now? Where's the road? I have to go pee! I don't see the hotel!
Cathy had put Sarah in some pull-ups, reasoning that this would alleviate some of the pressure of the road. Sarah, however, was resolutely opposed to using her pull-ups in this way, and we found the first rest stop. Sarah didn't like the noisy potties there (I have this on Cathy's authority. I luxuriated in a stall in the Gent's, thrilled at being all by myself at such a time.) Sarah did like the vending machine, especially after I put in money and got some of her snack mix, thus forever associating rest stop with snack mix. One day we'll go to a rest stop with no snack mix, and then there'll be trouble.
Anyway, we reached the hotel in decent time; saw nobody to talk to, and went to bed. Next day we rose with the sun -- or such rays of the sun as we were unable to prevent from filtering into the room, anyway -- had a breakfast that, sadly, could be beat, and then I took Sarah into the pool. Lucky for us, it had steps in one end, just like the last pool we'd been in, so Sarah had her activities all figured out. She sat or lay on the top step, sometimes journeying down to the next one. One time she let me carry her down the length of the pool on my shoulder. We encountered Mary Kay and Jordin, who declined our indefinite lunch offer, so we went off on our own and found a "New York Deli" that had a nice potato-and-beef cutlet sandwich. We ate while Sarah passed the time being a kid. We also kept getting her and bringing her back.
We were having more success in finding people. By this time we'd located Bud and Mary, for instance. The Saturday supper was set aside for a common anniversary meal with the Stileses, who had wed on roughly the same calendar date as us. When dinner time came and we hadn't found them yet, we reluctantly headed to the cafe in the hotel, reasoning that they might come in and find us there. If we waited too long, Sarah would have melted down. Steve and Elaine showed up as we were done eating, and went off to find sustenance on their own -- traffic had thwarted their attempts, and we hadn't waited for them.
That evening was the RASFF party in Marilee's room. I was set up with my keyboard and starting to play when Sarah needed to go to bed, so I packed up and left the party. About an hour later, at 11, Sarah was breathing quietly and my breathing had gotten a bit less labored, so I forced myself to my feet and back to the party. Steve and Elaine had departed. Ted had gone off as well. I chatted with Bud and Mary and Marilee and Mary Kay. Mary Kay peeled off in search of horizontality. At 12:30 the party was declared at an end, and Bud and I chatted in his room for a while until Mary decreed that that party was over as well. Rather than continue elsewhere, we dissolved the evening and I went tipcrashing into bed.
Up bright and early on Sunday, we ate again and then Sarah and I pooled it again. A couple more sweeps through lobby and hallways indicated we had probably reached the end of jolly times for the year, so we made a final assault on the dealer's room and drove across the pike to the Borders, where we had a light repast and I purchased some CDs. The drive home was fairly quiet and uneventful with the usual slow traffic for a while. Sarah slept on and off.
Now she keeps asking if we'll stay in a hotel again. We undoubtedly will, so she gets her wish; lucky child.
.
