It's almost Labor Day, and that means hopes are high for a visit from our one and only grandson. I snapped a few photos for Jen, who no doubt is responsible for packing his kit, so she wouldn't pack duplicate items or miss bringing any she truly needs to function smoothly as a family while visiting the lake. Note that the Moscato in the background is for Mommy, not Ben.
I remember visiting Pat in Toronto when Adam was two. We drove a station wagon I owned during that time, and I packed the back end with everything I would need to travel five hours by car and stay a weekend in Pat's apartment--including a play pen (there were no "pack and plays" back then), clothes enough to survive without a washer/dryer, and of course diapers. Lots of diapers. Adam was two, and his were not the dainty diapers of a newborn.
Things went relatively smoothly on the drive, even though Adam never fell asleep and I was heartily sick of singing "the wheels on the bus go round and round" with Bert and Ernie.
When we came to the international border, the border guard asked the usual questions: name, where I was born, where I was going, how long I was going to stay in Canada. "Two days," I told her.
She looked in the back of the station wagon at the playpen, diapers, and other miscellaneous gear.
"Two days?" she said, arching an eyebrow.
I could tell she was thinking it might be a good idea to wave me over to the inspection station, where I would have to unload the car and submit to further scrutiny.
"Do you have children?" I asked.
"No."
"Well, this is what it takes to travel for with a toddler for a weekend, every bit of it. Ask any parent."
There was a pause, during which I could see her weighing her options. She looked at Adam, by now squirming and arching his back in the car seat. She did not smile.
"Go ahead,"she said. We did.
Adam settled back into his seat, and I punched the cassette player.
The wheels on the bus go round and round....round and round....round and round....
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