In Limbo In Utah

Being in limbo between homes can get a bit old, except when it becomes an extended vacation. Our time between homes has been a month. Ryan has been staying with friends in Cleveland while he finishes up his residency and I have been in Utah entertaining the kids. I thought life would calm down after packing up and leaving our home in Ohio, but if visiting family and friends, and attending events such as a homecoming, birthday parties, and a wedding, didn’t keep me busy enough, being a single parent of four did. We tried to make every moment in Utah count though, since we so infrequently get to be with family.

Braden always enjoys visiting Utah. For him, it means staying up late, getting up early, and participating in one of his favorite passions... playing video games. Braden has become quite skilled at Grammy and Papa J's Wii, setting nearly every possible record. He was also able to work on another of his passions, climbing. Braden enjoys the challenge of seeing how high he can climb to the top of nearly anything. He'll climb trees, swing posts, and even light posts. This despite his fear of heights. His last passion was also fed. Braden has recently developed a great passion for animals. His three-year-old dream of growing up to be a “tree cutter-downer” has been replaced many times over by now, most recently with the desire to become a veterinarian. Fortunately for him, Aunt Maggie arranged for a visit to a friend's farm with horses and chickens, and her sister-in-law's new puppies. Braden has waited quite patiently to get a dog, and I guess we're all out of excuses now... oh, except our rental won't let us have pets!

The highlight of Emmry’s visit was the wedding and all the preparations for it. She took her first trip to the salon with me and Grammy to get her nails painted to match her dress. The color? Pretty Pink of course. She loved getting to dress in a fancy pink dress with her cousins and be a flower girl at her Uncle Brian’s wedding. Though she was utterly disappointed when she learned she would not be throwing flower pedals, she was somewhat appeased when her new aunt gave her the task of carrying her train. Emmry has since been making plans for her own wedding. She will have nine flower girls. Some will blow bubbles, but some will definitely throw flower pedals. Her groom will be Calvin, a friend from Ohio now living in Utah. But she tells me there is one problem: Calvin doesn’t like to kiss or hug. She had the chance to remedy this at a two day sleepover, but it seems that they mostly played dog and cat, and tea party. I told her not to worry, that any boy that will play tea party is worth waiting for.

The babies I toted from place to place, some of more interest to them than others. They are good sports though and found their own entertainment when the event did not suit them. For example, at Boondocks when the older kids were miniature golfing, the babies were taking off their shirts. I solved that problem with duct tape. When the older kids were driving go-carts, the babies were taking off their shoes. I solved that problem with duct tape. When the older kids were driving water boats, the babies were trying to take off their diapers. I've been through a lot of duct tape.

The Buzz game was a highlight of the trip. Braden and Emme settled right in with their cousins, did little watching, plenty of eating, and a lot of laughing. Hadley and Chloe didn’t find the game quite as interesting, but found much interest in the concrete floor and what had been dropped onto it. By the end of the game, well the end for me, the girls were shirtless lying on the ground which was covered with who knows what. They had eaten a huge amount of licorice, cotton candy, popcorn, soda, and I’m not sure how many cheese crackers they had found on the ground. About the 7th inning I decided their stomachs and my nerves could handle no more and we called it a night.

The highlight of our limbo in Utah for me was my trip back to Cleveland for Ryan’s graduation dinner. I was unsure how I would feel returning “home.” I worried that the tears that were not shed earlier, would come. But they didn’t. Instead, I felt like a visitor in the place I had only just left and had called home for four years. Everything seemed oddly familiar in a distant way. Surreal, I guess. Our home had stood empty for several weeks, was overgrown, and strangely did not feel like ours. It was wonderful to see the familiar, neighbors and friends, and return to the Clinic for Ryan’s graduation dinner. Ryan will join us tomorrow and we will be back together as a family. Braden says he hardly remembers him (tongue and check), Emmry cries for him, and the babies say “dah” every time the phone rings. I simply miss him.