A Letter in Three Parts

A letter in three parts describing the last of our adventures with Grandma Shelly in Philly, our trip to Boston, and an update on the girls.

I. The List

Before my Mom came to visit us in Philadelphia I made a list of at least thirty things we had to do or see while she was there. The amazing thing is we almost did it all--leaving just enough that she’ll have to come back again. ☺ Unfortunately, we had to make some time the last week Grandma Shelly was with us to do irksome things like laundry and cleaning the house. We managed, however, to minimize that time and work in another afternoon at the Please Touch Museum, a trip to Valley Forge, a walking tour of the Morris Arboretum, an architecture hunt to find the Esherick House designed by Lewis Kahn, lunch and window shopping in Chestnut Hill, and an audio tour of the Museum of Art.

One morning we set out to go to the Morris Arboretum for a tour with the Wharton Kids’ Club. That was the extent of the plan, but things just kept falling into place and it ended up being a day full of adventures. As we were leaving the arboretum I realized we had come the same general direction we had tried to go another day to find the Esherick House. I mapped it on my phone and found out that, sure enough, we were only a couple of miles away. So off we went. We found the Esherick House vacant so we were able to walk around it, peek in the windows, and take pictures without being too obnoxious. As we got back in the car Kate said, “Mom, that house is cool. (slight pause) Fiar Tuck used to live in that house.” Coming from Kate that is the highest possible praise. Friar Tuck is her favorite “tend friend.” She even told me she was going to marry him the other day. We emailed Doug a picture while we were there and let him know that Kate had given the design her stamp of approval. He immediately responded to my email and hearing his excitement that we were there made the trip even better.

Once again we set out for home. Then we saw an ATM, which we had been looking for, so we pulled over. As I waited in the car and looked around I realized that we were in the middle of Chestnut Hill, a quaint neighborhood that was on our list of places to go. We ate lunch at a little cafe and then walked the cobblestone streets stopping at O’Doodles Toy Store and finishing up at an ice cream parlor. Kate announced earlier that day as we were driving, “I’m dying for some ice cream.” Lucky for her Grandma was in town.

Another highlight of our final week in Philly was a Girls’ Night Out with several of my friends who are also spouses of Wharton students. We left Kate and Jane with Josh, and my Mom and I went out on the town for a night. We even took a taxi so we didn’t have to bother with parking. When I told Josh the plan for girls night, going to Naked Chocolate for Frozen Hot Chocolate, he looked at me with a completely confused look and said, “There is so much wrong with what you just said.” We had such a fun evening. We are all operating pretty much at our limit, but getting together for an evening of talking and laughing was as refreshing as it was rare. We had a delightful time. As bewildered as our husbands may have been about our choice of activities they certainly should be able to see the benefits of allowing us an evening out together to rejuvenate.

Josh and I went out on Friday night. We literally walked across the street to the restaurant. We see the crowds fill Figs every night of the week and smell the food as we are walking home, but we have never eaten there. It was wonderful. Living across the street from a Zagat rated restaurant may be dangerous, however, especially now that we know what we are missing. After dinner we went to a little movie theater in Center City. You have to pay cash. The old man takes your tickets and his wife scoops up your popcorn. You only have a choice of two movies. Then you sit in a long, narrow theater that only seats about 50. It was a fun big city date.

Next we set our sites on Boston and returning to Utah for the holidays. We didn’t completely abandon Josh. We left the fridge and freezer packed with food and started his twelve days of Christmas early so he would have something to remember us by each day. Our conscience satisfied, we left him all alone and went off to play.

II. What Was I Thinking?

During the safety schpeel presented by the flight attendants on the first leg of our trip to Utah the stewardess said, “And for those of you flying with children....(in a whisper) what were you thinking?!” She then continued on with her instructions about oxygen masks. There were plenty of moments over the last couple of weeks when I thought to myself, “What was I thinking?”

We took Amtrak from Philly to Boston. That was brilliant. The girls loved it and it was less expensive and less hassle than flying. The trickiest part was riding the escalator down to the train. Mom was holding Jane, pulling her suitcase, and carrying the diaper bag. I was pulling my suitcase and carrying the toy bag. Kate was pulling her new red suitcase with wheels all by herself. Then we came to the escalator. Down went Grandma & Jane & their luggage. I took Kate’s suitcase and got the three bags and myself on our way. Then I looked over my shoulder and saw Kate frozen with fear at the top of the escalator. What was I thinking? I tried to talk her through it. She didn’t move. I abandoned the suitcases to their fate and ran backward up the escalator to rescue my little girl. Sometimes she acts so big I forget how little she really is.

We took two rows across from each other on the train so the girls could move freely between the seats. They had a grand time and were thrilled with the fact that they had the undivided attention of both Mom and Grandma for 5 hours. When the train stopped in New York City it suddenly filled with people. Passengers lined up in the aisles looking for vacant seats. Technically Jane was a lap child. We started picking up toys to make the seat available as they announced over and over again on the loud speaker that the train would be filled to capacity. Just as our car became jammed with people looking for seats, Jane grabbed the gallon ziplock filled with foam stickers and dumped it all over the seat. Funny that no one wanted to sit by us.

And so we arrived in Boston. Boston in December. Boston in December with two children. Boston in December with two children and one hotel room. What was I thinking?

The best mental picture of our Boston trip occurs at bed time. I made a bed for the girls on the floor with an extra down comforter. If only it had been that easy. My girls, who usually go to bed without any trouble at all, had the hardest time falling asleep in the hotel room. They were completely exhausted but the excitement of being away from home and with their grandparents trumped tired. The only way we could get them to sleep was to put them in separate beds and turn out all the lights. Then my mom, dad and I would all got into the bathroom and read while the girls sang, and laughed, and eventually fell asleep.

Actually, we had a wonderful time in Boston. Our hotel was in the Back Bay area a block away from Trinity Church, one of the top 10 most important buildings architecturally in the country. Our goal the first day was just to get to Trinity Church. We made it. We even took the self guided tour. It is a beautiful building and reminded me of being in Europe. Kate loved looking at the stained glass windows while I told her the “Jesus stories” they were depicting.

Our second and third days in Boston we opted for the guided trolley tour where you can get on and off as you please. The first day was bright and beautiful. We spent most of the time following the freedom trail. We went to Paul Revere’s House, the Old North Church, and one of the first cemeteries in Boston. When we were completely frozen, we stopped at a pastry shop and had hot chocolate and pastries for lunch. The second day was even more of an adventure if you look at it optimistically or a disaster if you look at it more realistically. We boarded the trolley again with the intent of going to the New England Aquarium. When the trolley stopped we only had to walk two blocks to the entrance of the aquarium. Unfortunately it was a downpour of half rain half snow and the wind was coming in off the sea at great speed. It was blowing so hard it blew off our hats and took our breath away. My Mom and I were gasping in disbelief trying to catch our breath and get to a sheltered place. Kate was laughing and loving every minute of it. Jane was screaming. We made it to the aquarium. Water was running off our hats, our noses, and our coats. The aquarium was wonderful. The girls especially loved the sharks. We stood by the big tank for an hour just watching the sharks swim by. Every time a nose and teeth would appear the girls would squeal with delight. As soon as a shark would pass Jane would start saying “comes, comes” (because she heard us saying, ‘here it comes’) until another nose appeared.

The rest of the time in Boston we spent at book stores reading stories to the girls, eating (If you ever want to eat mac & cheese in Boston Kate can tell you where to go) , putting hats on, putting gloves on, taking hats off, taking gloves off, and then starting the process all over again, swimming in the hot tub and the “cold tub,” the fitting name Kate gave the swimming pool, riding escalators and elevators and trolleys, window shopping, and just enjoying a change of scenery.

One night my Dad came back from his course and insisted that my Mom and I go out for a nice dinner while he read in the bathroom and the girls fell asleep. He sent us to an incredible seafood restaurant for their Wednesday Night Lobster Special. My Mom went with the seafood risotto with lobster in it and I decided to order a whole lobster for the experience. What was I thinking? I had never eaten a whole lobster before. I had to ask the waiter how to proceed when he placed that bright red creature in front of me with it’s eyes staring up into mine. Following his instructions, I cracked the first claw and was feeling rather smug when all of the sudden this dark goo started coming out of the back end of my lobster. Startled, and being the mother of an 18-month-old, I said, “Mom, I think my lobster is pooing.” Just then the waiter came by to see how we were doing. He looked as grossed out as I felt, but then composed himself and told me it was the liver and considered a delicacy. He asked if he should take it back and have the chef clean it up. I told him, no. I just wanted to know what it was. I turned my plate around, however, and never could bring myself to try it.

Our flight to Utah took all day. We had to wake the girls up early to catch a shuttle to the airport and then endure three separate flights to Chicago, Phoenix, and finally into Salt Lake. All things considered, the girls were great. It was wonderful to have the extra helping hands of Grandma Shelly and Grandpa Larry. When the girls were sick of me and I was sick of them, Grandma and Grandpa would come to the rescue. We all survived and it is so fun to be home in the land of snow and Christian Christmas celebrations.

III. The Most Important Things in Life

Kate has taken it upon herself to teach Jane how to talk. She breaks words down into syllables and has Jane repeat after her. She began this instruction with all of the most important words: li-tle-jon, fry-er-tuck, rob-in-hood, lay-dee-cluk, made-mare-i-um, etc.

She’ll ask Jane a question like “Jane do you want to give that candy to me?” and then without a pause say, “Jane, say yes.” Jane will repeat, “yes,” and the matter is settled.

I found the girls at the kitchen table one day each with a bowl of milk in front of them and Kate teaching Jane the proper way to dunk graham crackers for a snack. I love to see them becoming such good friends.

Jane’s vocabulary is expanding at great speed. Today in Relief Society the teacher had passed around a basket with quotes to read during the lesson. If you read one you got to take a little chocolate bar as well. I took a quote and then was feeding Jane tiny pieces of chocolate to keep her quite. When the chocolate was gone she looked up at me and said, clear as a bell, “chocolate.” I said, “all gone.” That was not the appropriate answer. She repeated, “chocolate” pause, slightly louder, “chocolate” pause, slightly louder, “chocolate” pause, louder, “chocolate” and finally so it could not be ignored, “CHOCOLATE!” By this time everyone around me was chuckling. Before I knew it the chocolate basket circled back around the room to us. Once again Jane won the day.

Happy Holidays, Everyone!