The first time I brought Chris back home with me (home being the Texas Panhandle) was May 1996. The occasion was my brother and sister's high school graduation, and the weater was awful. The region was experiencing worse-than-usual drought conditions and there were horrible dust storms raging. The sky was a nice shade of brown. Chris claims to be impressed by the dust devils and tumbleweeds, but meteorologically speaking, I'd hoped for something a bit nicer.
The second time we went home together, it was Christmas 1997. There was a raging blizzard this time and we were snowed in for three or four days.
The third time was June 1998, and this occasion was our wedding. It was hot. It was asphalt-meltingly hot. When I drove by the bank (yes, in our town it's just "the" bank) on my way to church, the temperature was 109. After the ceremony we went to my grandparent's house to set up for a BBQ (yes, it's Texas, I can say BBQ) dinner and my granddad announced that the backyard thermometer read 115. We had to set up the tables on the driveway because it was slightly more shaded.
At least it was a dry heat.
The first time we flew with Mallory, she was four months old and I think I brought along every rattle, teether, blankey, and stuffed animal we owned, so afraid was I that she'd require constant entertainment on the plane. She was fine without any of that stuff, but I didn't really learn. On subsequent flights I continued to bring tons of books, stickers, crayons, and little action figures along -- and never needed half of it. When she was almost three, before we flew to El Paso to see my older sister, my father-in-law bought us a portable DVD player. We got on the plane and got it all set up to show Finding Nemo; then I glanced over at the family beside us -- a single mom with her 4-year-old son and 2-year-old daughter. They were doing Presidential Flash Cards. I felt appropriately chagrined. And I seem to recall that on the way back Mallory didn't want to watch movies at all; she spent the whole flight playing with a single jar of play-doh and some ice cubes.
So Sunday we're off again, all four of us this time. I'm sure we'll bring along the DVD player just in case. And some stickers. And some new books and gadgets. And most of it will stay firmly stowed in the overhead bins while the girls play with the airsick bags or look through the SkyMall catalog. (I love SkyMall!)
I just hope the weather's nice.
The second time we went home together, it was Christmas 1997. There was a raging blizzard this time and we were snowed in for three or four days.
The third time was June 1998, and this occasion was our wedding. It was hot. It was asphalt-meltingly hot. When I drove by the bank (yes, in our town it's just "the" bank) on my way to church, the temperature was 109. After the ceremony we went to my grandparent's house to set up for a BBQ (yes, it's Texas, I can say BBQ) dinner and my granddad announced that the backyard thermometer read 115. We had to set up the tables on the driveway because it was slightly more shaded.
At least it was a dry heat.
The first time we flew with Mallory, she was four months old and I think I brought along every rattle, teether, blankey, and stuffed animal we owned, so afraid was I that she'd require constant entertainment on the plane. She was fine without any of that stuff, but I didn't really learn. On subsequent flights I continued to bring tons of books, stickers, crayons, and little action figures along -- and never needed half of it. When she was almost three, before we flew to El Paso to see my older sister, my father-in-law bought us a portable DVD player. We got on the plane and got it all set up to show Finding Nemo; then I glanced over at the family beside us -- a single mom with her 4-year-old son and 2-year-old daughter. They were doing Presidential Flash Cards. I felt appropriately chagrined. And I seem to recall that on the way back Mallory didn't want to watch movies at all; she spent the whole flight playing with a single jar of play-doh and some ice cubes.
So Sunday we're off again, all four of us this time. I'm sure we'll bring along the DVD player just in case. And some stickers. And some new books and gadgets. And most of it will stay firmly stowed in the overhead bins while the girls play with the airsick bags or look through the SkyMall catalog. (I love SkyMall!)
I just hope the weather's nice.
Comments
I always bring too much stuff on airplanes too.
Isn't that neat that y'all are coming back 9 years later to celebrate your anniversary? Whee!
Holly
Holly