DEC-B-5
THE HAPPY HOLIDAYS START OFF ON A
HIGH NOTE,
WITH THE ARRIVAL IN DERWOOD OF MICHAEL, JUDY,
AND THE TWINS DEVIN MICHAEL AND JORDAN LEE,
READY FOR SOME MORE THOROUGH SPOILING –
THEIR FIRST VISIT TO THE DERWOOD CAVE,
BUT NOT THE LAST, IT IS PROFOUNDLY HOPED
Dec. 16—17, 2001
What a happy holiday bundle! They certainly cannot move fast and easily, since the twins are more than double the handful that prevents a speedy smooth moving from place to place. Michael and Judy had arrived late on Friday night at the BWI with Judy’s grandmother, who would be going back with Judy a week from Monday. In the schedule of events, which Judy had patterned out, Sunday night and Monday until about 3:00 PM was the time they had allotted for a visit to Derwood, with what ever could fit in that time. What could fit was a low-key visit, largely hanging around close to home in the uncharacteristically balmy unseasonable weather. We debated about packing the kids up to go downtown to see the Christmas tree lights and the Mall, but figured they would be just as happy in being home at their grandfather’s, so we had only one major excursion (i. e. any one that takes two identically aged five month-olds out the door with full tummies and empty diapers and not in direct interference with nap time, and we did that with an old favorite—a hike around Lake Needwood, a standard excursion since Michael was not much older than they.
When Judy’s grandmother was told on Sunday that they would be gong over to my house for a visit for the next day, she was so used to having the babies around to spoil that she said “But you are not taking the boys, are you?” I do not know if any grandmother could take a pair of them for 24 hours and not change her mind about how advisable it would be to drop them, off anywhere else! As they arrived about 7:30 PM on Sunday evening, the twins were in fine from and in Santa hats. We cold cuddle and squeeze them, taking a few photos, and feeding them their last bottles of the day before putting them down for the night. It is hard to get them off their home side routine and having almost 24 hours of fondling and being the center of attention, does get to them rather directly. So, Jordan decided to wake up at 3:00 AM and wonder where all the attention givers had disappeared to, and while not caterwauling, he was stirring, so he kept the grown-ups awake. That meant that it would be best for Judy to have a good late sleep-in, and we did not disturb her. Michael and I took turns feeding and changing the twins after breakfast, and then Michael also took a nap. It is a long day when the twins schedule is added into yours. I bounced one after the other around for a while when they were in need of some rocking motion and attention. Jordan is a real charmer and spends a lot of time staring at his grandfather’s face and smiling. Devin is less interested in what is immediately before him and most interested in finding out what is going on around him. They weigh 15 and 17 pounds respectively. I thought as I was comforting one and as Michael and Judy slept, that success in this undertaking is measured only in the passage of time—so many more minutes in which neither of them is unhappy and having a fit of anxiety about some unknown problems. When they are happy, they are as carefree as anyone on earth would like to be. It is a trick to synchronize them on their feeding and their wakefulness.
Devin is supposed to sleep in a plastic helmet to help reshape the flat spot on his head, a simple foam device that, tailor-made as it is, seems to have costed $2,050 and requires periodic refitting. The active ingredient in this is probably, like the taping of a silver dollar on an umbilical hernias, the passage of time with something to pre-occupy the grown-ups as things are ironed out on their own. But, they are getting the maximum of care with the minimum of cars on their own wee shoulders, with the possible exception of the challenge of getting them back onto a real-time schedule, something that took over a week following each of their air trips—so far in their young lives, twice to Florida, once to N. Carolina and once here to Virginia/Maryland.
We took a stroll around Lake Needwood. In bringing the tins out to the car, they could see a trio of the Derwood deer, no doubt welcoming them. We hiked around using the backpacks strapped in front, so that they can either enjoy the view from beneath their matching little Inca-style caps or turn around to face the bearer and fall asleep with the rhythmic walking. I had little Jordan, who got a good long nap out of the hike, and Michael carried Devin, who saw a bit more of the hike before hanging over the front to the pack in catching a few zzzz’s himself.
It was a good low-key visit, with Michael leaving tomorrow for San Antonio, and me going out directly via Dulles, which is within haling distance of Judy’s father’s house in Mc Lean. So, I had fortunately packed up the bags for my trip to Chicago and to Grand Rapids earlier, and got into the Bronco and drove it downtown to GW with the van following me. Then Michael and Judy with both twins sleeping in their car seats, dropped me in IAD for check-in on U/A for the flights. We will work out a visit in which I can come to see them when it can be worked out after they decide when and where they are going on their time-share period this week. Judy’s sister and her husband Ambrose were supposed to take the time share this year, but she gave her father three picture frames, including one of Devin, one of Jordan, and one of her own sonogram—with a later pregnancy confinement knocking them out of the action for this year.
SUBDUED HOLIDAY AIR TRAFFIC
I boarded a big 777 inbound from Brussels, with a slight air traffic delay for ORD. The big wide-body plane has special video programs and I could choose from the Discovery channel or National Geographic Specials. Each were showing films from wildlife photographers that were features of what I have seen often in Africa—the “bei”—“Islands in the Forest” cleared out by elephants, and which are home to a number of animals like the sitatunga and forest buffalo, each plagued by flies which are then fed on by the fish in the watercourses which draw the fishing birds.
I got in on schedule in a Chicago very different from last year’s visit in which I could wander amid three-foot high snow banks and shiver in the minus 4* F cold. This time it is almost as warm as it was in Washington, but with promise of falling temperature and prospect of snow. It’s Christmas time in the city!