Day 64

Wednesday October 20, 2010

We were so lucky....the weather was a bit chilly but otherwise perfect. We spent the walking on the beach with Papa and Nana. Teddy found one carcass after another...first a sting-ray then several sea lions. I have a younger brother and work with tons of boys but I have never quite understood the fascination that boys have with poking dead stuff!! It's just weird.

Nina was very tired today. In fact, I had noticed a growing fatigue over the fast several days and bit of drooling today. This morning, Todd and I both noticed her mouthing things (e.g., putting her hair and clothing into her mouth). We didn't say a word to her...just looked at each other with growing sadness...symptoms were coming back!

After lunch, Todd finished loading the car. We played a few games. Teddy invented a ball-toss game where Nina sat at the top of the stairs and threw balls down to him, trying to get the balls into a myriad of hats he had accumulated. He was so sweet to her...it choked me up!!!

Finally, it was time to go. We hugged Papa and Nana goodbye and loaded up into the car. As soon as she buckled, Nina asked that I turn the dvd player on. I did as she asked. She did not say a word about leaving the beach house. She simply put on her headphones and watched the previews on the video. We drove down the long path to the front exit. I looked back and saw Teddy crying. He looked at me but turned his face away when I tried to reach for his hand. I asked him what he was thinking about but he ignored me, instead putting his head phones on and turning his attention to the dvd screen. I then looked at Todd, who was also crying. I reached for his hand but unlike Teddy he didn't take it away. I asked him if he wanted to talk about it but he declined. We stopped at the front gate and waited for the door to open. It was dark and windy. Ominous. I rubbed Todd's back. He put both hands on the steering wheel and we drove to the gas station. Once there, I climbed into the back seat with the kids. I sat between them and tickled their arms the way they love it. Once back on the road, Beauty and Beast came on. It was my favorite movie as an adolescent and I still had all of the lyrics memorized. I started to sing along with Belle, however, Nina turned to me and said, "Mama...please don't sing." I laughed!

We had left late a night because we had hoped the kids would fall asleep. Did they???? NOPE!!! Not for a single second. We arrived in Santa Babara at 11pm. We all climbed into bed, grateful for a wonderful trip but equally grateful for being back home! Then...we passed out!!! Nothing like sleeping in your own bed!!!