MJ Takes on CT

MJ made the trip to Connecticut. At this point in her short life, she's actually gone way further than CT but the trip to CT was very, very unexpected. Let's just say bringing MJ to Connecticut to visit grandma and grandpa is a lot like the Tea Party. Way better in theory than in practice, it sounds way better on paper than in reality. This post is well over due, but the topic must be revisited.

Taking a four week old on a trip along with a nineteen month old to visit their paternal grandparents is cause for celebration. Get out the bunting, trumpets, and any other fan fare. Queue Bugler's Dream and get the popcorn because my mother is going to have everyone she knows come by to see the new grandchild.

Or at least...that was what I thought.

On the voyage down to Connecticut, Kim and I weren't sure what to expect. We thought it would be a good idea to get down to visit my parents during the April vacation. After all, having a week off because I'm a teacher, I should be able to schedule some time to get back to home to visit my family. What kind of son would I be if I didn't make the effort, right? Plus I'm nostalgic, too. So every trip home isn't a short walk down memory lane, it's more of a marathon, no, no, no, it's an Iron Man (2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike ride followed by a marathon).

Like all kids, they don't wanna hear about dad's claim to fame.

With every step I take around the house it's impossible for me to say anything but, "When I was kid..." fill in the blank. I've literally turned into my father and that isn't a bad thing. Although I've never been able to go back to my dad's home with him, I could only imagine what it'd be like. When my dad just thinks back to a time and reminisces, we sound like twins (I've learned from the best).

So naturally I thought all about bringing her throughout the house. I thought about showing her where my brother and I replayed the NBA games we watched on Sunday afternoons. I thought about showing her my old bedroom that still has my high school accomplishments dripping from the wall like wax on a candle. And just like dried candle way I was  once a hot flame and I've been blown out, but I've still got some things worth looking back on. And it's a good thing my parents just took over the closets and not the walls. It's also a good thing that they are both as sentimental as I am. So most of my things are still in the same place that I left them in.

Anyways, just as Kim and I passed Carmen Arace Middle School, which put us just under 1 mile away. We both looked at each other and realized MJ had not had all of her shots yet. Now most people wouldn't think too much of that. In fact it hadn't crossed our minds before that moment. But it should have. It really should have because my mother had always been around to get every phone call from the school, she had been to see my brother and I get on and off the bus to and from Laurel School. Why is it important that I can call her cell phone and not have her pick up but call the house and expect her to answer the phone because it's literally attached to her person? Here's why. My mother had always been able to be home because she ran and currently runs a home daycare.

What's the problem? Let me restate the problem if you missed it. First, MJ hasn't gotten all of her shots yet. Second, my mother has a home daycare. Third, we'll be staying at the house/home daycare for a couple of days during the work week. By now it was too late to turn back. We figured we'd just have to keep her clear of all the germ factories (children at play) and pray that MJ didn't get Cholera, Typhoid or the Measles. Check out the picture or link to see the shots that babies should get before they turn 15 months (immunization chart). It's rather frightening especially since some parents don't feel their child should be vaccinated.

Things went well, no life debilitating sicknesses but the car ride home was terrible. MJ cried for about an hour even though we stopped three times. The kiddos were working in synergy. Jackie cried for the same amount of time, too. He wanted the attention that was being thrown around like Fat Joe when he makes it rain (watch the video below for a comparable comparison of Kim and I throwing our attention to the children).

Take away all the glitz and glamor of the video and substitute it with tears and toys being thrown back in our faces in frustration and you'd have a clue of how the 1 hour 40 minute drive turned into 3 hours and 30 minutes. There were no traffic but the roadblocks my cherubs provided. Needless to say, we haven't made too many trips to Connecticut.

Certainly I've made a strong case for my parents to make the trip more often. If not, I have selfishly wished my parents start to make the trip up to Reading more often to alleviate MJ's time in the car that has a direct correlation with my sanity level. With a whole basement for themselves that includes a fridge, sink, full bathroom, bed, and couch, what more could the ask for? Please make the trip! MJ isn't a car girl and Jackie is a push over when it comes to peer pressure.