We just got back from a very nice visit with Mason’s grandparents [my folks] in Indiana. He travels very well actually, making the 4.5 hour trip with very few stops and leaving my eardrums intact (no, I did not pack Mason’s orange sound muffling headphones.)
My parents now stay in an ‘assisted living’ community or, as my mom refers to it, a ‘minimum security’ center. It is a very nice set up for them. The rooms are basically like small apartments – some with two bedroom layouts. Theirs has a bigger floor plan because they have a corner unit. ANYWAY, the grandfolks layed the groundwork with most of the other residents letting them know that Mighty Mo was toolin’ down ol’ interstate 65 for a visit. So it felt like everyone knew us as we walked through the hallways. Mz.D told me she was walking past some residents and after she passed, one woman said, “That’s Mr. Nead’s daughter-in-law…” – to which a man said, “What?” – to which the woman repeated, “THAT’S MR. NEAD’S DAUGHTER-IN-LAW!”.
There are no secrets here.
We stayed on site in a guest suite which had lots of room for us to spread out and set up ‘baby camp’. Much easier than having to travel back and forth to a hotel with the monster and when said monster got crabby it was BettyMa to the rescue! I think she clocked close to 28 miles of stroller pushing through the extensive hallways keeping the baby occupied. Often giving up her meal time to help out. We were able to run errands while they watched/played/fed/loved Mighty Mo.
After any trip however, there is a period of ‘coming down’ from the high of intense one-on-one social interaction along with little old ladies kissing baby toes. I would equivocate this to a heroin addict trying to kick his habit. This always makes the first day and a half back a bit of a challenge. If they made baby straight jackets, I would have been running off to Target to get one. It was like breaking in a wild, bucking, quarter horse. This kid really needed a fix. He needed to score some serious toe kissing, balloon pulling, constant motion, meet new people, feed me, hold me, get down on the floor with me time. And he was willing to sell his Fisher Price Cradle Swing for a bag of it.

Phew.

We were able to celebrate Grandpa’s birthday while visiting, along with recognizing Mason’s 6 month benchmark too. Here is a picture I took of Mighty, down on the floor with Grandpa’s balloons.

This is the face of a baby high on love-