The Trip

It came as a bit of a surprise when my dad told me that he and his wife would "see us this weekend."  He lives 1,200 miles away and we weren't expecting him at least until summer.  The kids could not have been more fired up.  "Papa" always seems to bring a smile to their faces.  So it was quite an unfortunate turn when I started getting sick 2 days prior to arrival.  I figured I would kick it quick and all would be good by arrival time.  Boy was I wrong.  They weren't here 24 hours and my voice was completely gone!  I don't just mean a little bit, I mean totally inaudible.  The only thing I could do was whisper.  And that wouldn't have really been a problem except for the fact that my dad can't hear shit!  He is upwards of 70 and working around heavy equipment all of his life has taken a toll on the old man.  Again, normally wouldn't be a problem but the Ox (the original Ox) refuses to wear hearing aids.  I guess somehow it looks "unmanly" to need hearing assistance.  I don't think it has occurred to him to check what a guy looks like yelling "Huh!?" at every utterance issued him but whatever.  So the first day was spent doing just that.  It was a mess.  He would ask me a question, I would try to answer and he would shrug his shoulders and say "I can't understand you!"  A true nightmare for anyone who talks as much as I do.  I don't know how else to communicate.  He hasn't been around for the kids younger months so he hasn't had the opportunity to pick up on the sign language that has been taught in this house so we were at an impasse.  The only way we could communicate was through a translator (his wife, Virginia).  I would whisper to her and she would pass along the message.  I shake my head at the lunacy!  It was a loooong day!  Luckily by giving the old vocal chords a day of rest they seemed to come back around the next day.

This was a good thing because this day was the main event.  The reason for their 1,200 mile trek...The Denver Stockshow.  Virginia's granddaughter came out to show her prize-winning sheep at the show and she and dad came to see the affair.  I thought it would be fun for the female midget to see all the animals and such so we tagged along.  I wasn't expecting anything big.  Just a few heads of livestock, a couple peeps and a corn dog or two...Holy shit did I fall short in my estimations!  It took us 20 minutes just to get in the door.  There were people EVERYWHERE and animals of all shapes and sizes in mass quantity.  I also fell short in my estimation of the gals excitement of said animals.  We weren't in the sheep barn 5 minutes and she was already asking to go home.  It was 11:30AM...the showing didn't start until 5PM!  This kid was in for a rude awakening.  She didn't want to pet anything and didn't even want to hear of visiting the cow barn.  We sat out in front of it for about 10 minutes trying to coax her in to look at them and she was hearing nothing of it.  Dad tried everything.  She dug in her heels.

So we decided to take a walk and see what else the place had to offer.  We came upon the Miniature Mecca!  There was a whole section just for kids.  She found the motherland.  There were games, prizes, exhibits, and train rides.  She even got a chance to use a real loom.  She was too short to reach the peddles but she insisted that she get a turn too.  The lady was nice enough to oblige and force all of the 8+ year olds to wait patiently.  Luckily she didn't even want to sniff a pony ride because the line for that was easily 150 kids deep.  It was insane.  At one point she requested a "treat" which I later came to regret accommodating.  They had huge lollipops about the size of an adult fist in circumference and filled with rainbow swirl color.  She was so smitten with these that she just "had to have one."  I figured with all the hours of waiting we were going to be doing this might be a nice distraction.  She certainly wasn't going to finish the dam thing in the course of the day but it would give her something to work on while she was surrounded by animals that scared the bejeezus out of her.  I told her she could eat it after lunch (which happened to be a corn dog the length of my forearm.)  I still don't get why fair food has to be larger than life.  There were people walking around by the hundreds with these HUGE, I'm talking GIGANTIC turkey legs.  They were just mowing them down.  They must have been good because every other person was carrying one but to see so many carnivorous beasts devouring these barbecued bird legs just kinda made me puke a little.  It was like they had just scored a "kill" and were feasting on what was left of the carcass.  Just a little too "Wild Kingdom" for me and I had to avert my eyes when someone walked by with one cuz I truly thought I might lose my lunch.

Anyway, the child impressively consumes her meal and is panic-stricken for the pop.  Being a mom of my word, I unwrapped it then and there and let her go to town.  With each lick she had a different exclamation..."Mmmm goooood!", "Delicioso!", and "This is fantastical!"  I was applauding my decision to buy the pop.  But then the pop started to become a nuisance.  I picked up the gal and it got stuck to my shirt.  She would bop the pop into my leg and look up with the eyes and say "Oops! Sorry mommy!"  Being as big as it was, the thing was top-heavy and the wrist of this 3-year-old was just not up to par in keeping it steady.  I should have accounted for this later in the day...

We got to the sheep show a bit early so we could actually sit down.  The bleachers were packed with other sheep-peeps.  Parents, enthusiasts, kids and spectators.  We landed a seat at the very top.  Once we got seated the pop was requested again.  Dad pulled it out of the bag and she was back making work of it.  We made small talk with the people around us and the mini was making friends with them all.  They were commenting on her glitter shoes, pink princess cowgirl hat and larger than life lollipop.  She was prancing up and down and holding on to strangers for support.  She looked kinda like a drunken gnome.  Losing her balance, holding on, giggling, and huggin on anyone willing.  She was sitting so sweetly, face full of sugary sin and she suddenly lost her balance...again.  Only this time her beautiful, spit-laden pop ended up in the highly processed hair of the lady in front of us.  There was no brushing this off or acting like it didn't happen.  She fell forward and the sucker STUCK!  I instantly panicked.  I had NO idea what to do so I instinctively reached over and yanked it out of the lady's hair.  As I pulled, my jaw agape in mortification, I noticed that there were plenty of pieces of hair stuck to the pop.  I also noticed the "rainbow of fruit flavors" that colored the back of her head.  I seriously wanted to crawl under a rock and DIE!  I would have happily jumped in the ring to show a sheep sight unseen if I could just get out of this place!  I immediately started apologizing frantically (and so did my gal) and I tried to "fix" her hair to no avail.  She could not have been cooler about it.  She didn't get mad, she didn't say one ill word.  She was a total angel.  At one point I almost started crying.  I felt soo horrible.  She looked at me and said "Oh my gosh honey, your face and chest just turned beet red.  Please, stop!  Don't feel bad."  I could feel "the red" and I was sweating profusely.  I just didn't know how to undo what had been done.  Then I realized I couldn't.  This lady was so amazing about the whole thing.  Mya went about eating her lollipop like it was no big deal--hair and all.  I figured I should go on and do the same. (Don't you love taking life lessons from your kids?)  After all of the apologies were over my sweet girl looks up at me and says with complete nonchalance, "Mommy, don't be angry at me.  It was just an accident!"  That was the nail in the coffin.  She summed it all up in a few short words and she was right.  What would have, at one time in my life, ruined my evening and made me leave the premises was now just "an accident" and something to be forgiven.  I sat in awe that it took me 34 years and a child to figure this out.  It also gave me a flash of understanding that I am not my daughter.  She is her own person and will no doubt make bigger mistakes than dropping a lollipop in someones hair and I am going to have to learn to accept that, deal with that and love her in spite of her screw up's.  Easily said, not sure how easily done.  But this definitely gave me a glimpse at the road ahead of me and the work I will need to do in separating "her" from "us" and by "us" I mean ME!

All in all it was a great trip.  It wouldn't have been a family trip without a little more embarrassment though.  As Dad and Virginia were gathering up their last few items, making their list and checking it twice, shuttling things out to the car for departure, I figured I would help.  It's easier for me to sweep the house with the guest to find things that "don't belong."  So I search the kitchen for road trip food, the laundry room for forgotten clothes and the bathroom for toiletries.  I always seem to forget my shower stuff wherever I go so I make a habit of checking the shower for our guests.  I am running around the top floor willy nilly, throwing doors open right and left.  I run into the bedroom, throw open the bathroom door, only to find my dad atop the porcelain throne!  Talk about turning 15 different shades of red!  I screamed so loud and in such an octave that I startled myself.  In 34 years I have NEVER walked in on the man and now this!  Why God?  WHY!?!?  I really could have gone my WHOLE life without that.  But thanks for the laugh Big Man!  Ugh!

So we gave our hugs and said our "good bye's" and "thank you's."  Dad is snuggling on my gal when he nuzzles to her ear and says "Now it's YOUR turn to come and visit US!"  Her eyes light up and she promises she will!  They aren't gone 10 minutes and this kid is already packing her bags!  I explain to her that we would need to take a plane to California to go see them and that it would be some time before we would be able to do that.  "Some time" to a 3-year-old is obviously arbitrary terminology.  She gets to quick work creating an art piece to take on the plane...she thinks we will be departing that afternoon.  GRRR!  So now I am met with the daily question of, "Is today the day we get on the plane to see Papa?  He said it is our turn.  We have to take our turn, Mommy."  Thank you dad for coming here and planting the seed to grow eternal!  This will be one that will not go away until we are on that plane.  Bravo!  Your work here is done!