A great visit

 Mama and I had a great visit with Brittany, Andrew, Zoe, Sophia and Audrey. Peter, Andrew’ s brother and their mom were also there for Audrey’s birthday celebration. Mama and I traveled up on Friday. We were in no particular hurry but made the drive in less than six hours with a couple stops. We got to visit with Brittany for a couple hours before she and Mama went to get Zoe and Sophia. Just before they left to get the girls, Andrew got to the house with his family and took over with Audrey – who was not overly welcoming of any of the additional adults. Brittany refers to Audrey as her COVID baby and it is an appropriate reference. She has been at home with mommy and daddy and no other adults to speak of for almost an entire year. She finally started to warm up to Mama about the time we were ready to leave Saturday afternoon. She was still very hesitant about me. I could hold her as long as she was in my arms facing forward – not able to see my face.

Friday evening, Peter bought us Korean food from a local restaurant/store. It was excellent! We just lazed around that evening and allowed Zoe and Sophia to wallow us as they went from one thing to another in their uninterrupted play. All the time Audrey scooted along behind her two older sisters trying to get involved in whatever had attracted their attention. It was a fun interaction to watch. Everyone went to bed by 8 pm and we started to set up the dining room for the party coming the next afternoon.

I got to get the girls out of bed Saturday morning. That was a wild event. They know they are not allowed to get up until someone comes to get them up but by the time I went up to release them from their room they had been awake for a good amount of time. I stood outside the door for a moment listening to them argue with each other about something I could not understand – but they were each set on their difference of opinion. When I opened the door their first words were, “Papi, you didn’t leave!” Brittany had muffins and fruit for breakfast and the girls were hungry. Each of them ate almost an entire muffin in small stages and a large amount of fruit. When they started to get silly, I called them “muffin heads” and that set off the goofiness that followed through the morning.

We played. We decorated. We cooked. We just enjoyed being busy. When Brittany and Mama arrived with the cakes all attention shifted to those sweets. We ate a simple lunch before getting to the cakes and again, the girls all ate very well. One of the cakes Brittany brought home was a smash cake. One that was made as a miniature of the formally decorated birthday cake for Audrey to smash all by herself. It took her a minute or two to get started but once she figured out how soft and sticky the little cake was, she demolished it with gusto. I got several short video clips for Brittany so she could post them as desired. She ate only a couple bites of the cake, but she had a great time flattening it.

Once Audrey was cleaned up and redressed in her traditional Korean costume, we let her go through the tradition of selecting an item from a variety of items laid out in a line in front of her. A microphone, a football, a ball of yarn, a pencil, a dollar bill, a stethoscope, a calculator and maybe one other item I have forgotten. Once she was placed on the floor in front of the row to pick from, she picked the pencil and held onto it for the remainder of the morning. I think I was told that means that she will be an intellectual – teacher, a writer, or something along that line. Time will tell.

Mama and I said our goodbyes to the girls before they went down for their naps and left about 3 pm Saturday afternoon. The drive home was spent listening to a coach/mentor whose training Mama had signed up for. It was helpful but somewhat repetitive. It gave me and Mama a chance to talk about what each of us see as challenges she must overcome to succeed in this – or any – business. March will be a telltale month for Mama and her business. We drove through some light rain as we traveled and a lot of fog, sometimes heavy, for the last couple hours of travel, but we were pulling into the garage at about 8:45.

Sunday services were wonderful and there is talk about our governor ending the mask mandate and lifting other restrictions so we can begin to function normally. We had a fellowship after church last night. Everything was individually packaged – sub sandwiches, chips, soft drinks and cupcakes. Somewhat sterile, but at least we had a fellowship. More and more people are coming back to church as the panic begins to subside. That is encouraging. Maybe soon we will take the tape down limiting access to every other pew in our auditorium.

Patience!