what we've been doing, continued

Friday, continued...
After the hearty handfuls of asparagus for dinner, and all day sweating in a car seat, E needed a bath. She had one in the kitchen sink, which was very exciting for her, especially since she got to play with some rubber ducks. She slept well that night in her small travel crib. We were given a teenage boy's bedroom for the night and they said we should come more often because he cleaned his room for us! The crib was stationed between the weight bench and the bunkbeds, where I slept on the lower one.

Saturday
E woke around 6 I think. We dozed in a comfortable chair after she nursed. Aunt Lynn cooked breakfast. E ate Cheerios. She and I napped for an hour, then got ready to go to the family reunion in my "hometown". I put it in quotes because I wasn't born there, but it's my mom's hometown and we lived there for 7 years - seven formative years for me (ages 9-16). My mom's family all live around there. So it feels like a hometown to me. It's the longest I lived anywhere until now. I've now been in my town for 8 years.

The reunion was at the house we used to live in; now my Uncle Phil lives there with his family. We ate outside in 90+ degrees, but there was a breeze and lots of shade, and we could escape inside to the A/C when needed. I rode with Uncle Phil down the road and back on his motorcycle (a Harley -- I know it had 1200 cc, but I didn't remember to ask the model). It has been a few years since I was on a motorcycle, and the last one I rode on was a Honda Gold Wing, which feels like riding in an open car, pretty much. In London I rode with my ex on a Honda - something like 145, 165 cc. So I was nervous but excited. I had also never used an open-face helmet, so the feeling of the wind on my face was new. I did remember to keep my mouth closed! I thought too late about posing E on the motorcycle for a photo.

She did well being passed around to relatives, and enjoyed getting down on the grass, grabbing handfuls of it. She tried a little deviled egg along with her baby food, but was too distracted to really appreciate it. We left when I was tired and just assumed she was - about 3:30. Went back to Lynn and Debbie's to recuperate before hitting the road again. Tried to put E down for a nap - left her alone in the travel crib and we listened to her happy monologue for a long time before it became clear she wasn't going to sleep. But I'm sure the alone time helped her wind down. We got in the car around 7 pm and by now she hated getting in the car seat, but she was asleep by the time we reached the first intersection. She probably would have fallen asleep in the driveway (she had been awake since 11 am) but for the puzzling diversion of watching Lynn and Debbie push my car out of the ditch. I had backed one wheel in as I was trying to leave.

I was traveling alone with E, and making rest stops was challenging, but I figured out a way. We got to my parents' house at around 10 pm, and having slept the whole way, my daughter was refreshed and active. Having driven the whole way, I was spent. Long story short, I know it must have been after 2 am when she finally gave in and went to sleep.

to be continued