baby, baby, who's got the baby?
One year ago: I read mystery novels and have the first sign I am pregnant, though I don't know it.
Two years ago: The luckiest woman alive.
Three years ago: I wish for success
Four years ago: I am already doing meta-entries.
We went to Cincinnati this weekend for the wedding of Darin's youngest cousin, Matthew. Even more important, Sophia got to meet the family, particularly her great-grandmother, Ilse.
I cannot even imagine having a great-grandmother. I can barely remember my own grandparents. I saw them a few times when I was small, I mean really small, we used to visit them. They lived in Philadelphia, and we lived in West Hartford, Connecticut. I don't think we saw them for the last few years we lived in Connecticut. We certainly didn't see them after we moved to California. I think the problem was that my grandparents didn't get along with my mother.
My mother's father died before she came to America, and her mother died right after she arrived. Considering I was born 13 years later, I really never knew them.
It occurs to me right now that not only have I not attended the wedding of any of my American or Irish cousins, but I cannot name them all.
Darin's family has it easier, of course -- there are fewer of them, post-WWII.
Thursday night she met Uncle Bob and Aunt Betty and Aunt Lil and Uncle Dan and Darin's cousins Matthew, Mark, and Jody. We checked into our hotel, the Amerisuites. The strange thing about the rooms in the Amerisuites is that they are not suites, they are one room separated by a half-wall between the bedroom and sitting area. But it did have a refrigerator.
It also had a dedicated Internet connection. But I couldn't make it work. So I called the help number and the clerk looked the Amerisuites up on the computer and told me: Oh, it's not hooked up yet.
Oh, I'm so glad the entire Internet connection is present here, so I can wonder about why the hell it's not working.
Friday we went to Ilse's nursing home, where Sophia was a big hit. Ilse had pictures of Sophia already up in her room, but we brought her a big glossy extreme close-up of her, one of the best pictures we have of her.
We left Ilse's a little later than we planned to get Mitch at the airport, but we ran into some amazingly horrible traffic -- I shudder to think about it. I discovered the technique of nursing a very tired, very cranky Sophia while she's strapped into her car seat. Learn something new every day.
Friday night was the rehearsal dinner for the wedding. When we finally arrived (after Sophia's little protest action), Sophia immediately disappeared, carried off by one relative or another. Periodically she made cameo appearances, as if to say, "Hey, Mom, how you?" Or until she needed to sleep, at which point she sacked out in her car seat.
Saturday day was spent hanging around Lil's house, watching the family become more and more worked up. Scott asked Matthew, the prospective groom, if he wanted to go see a movie or something. Matthew said, "Sure, man, why not? Nothing else going on."
Everyone was a little punchy.
Saturday night was the wedding. A big Catholic wedding, with several bridesmaids and groomsmen. We sat in one of the pews and Sophia disappeared, borne down the pew to meet cousins and other relatives.
(Okay, so here's my question: Steve and Shelly are cousins. Steve is Darin's father. What relation is Shelly to Darin? Second cousin? First cousin once removed? Shelly is Becca's mother. What relation are Darin and Becca? And what relation is Sophia to Shelly and Becca?)
Eventually Sophia made her way back to us, when the ceremony began. Matthew and Amiee made a beautiful couple. I hate singing hymns when I don't know the song, though. And I'd never realized how many times Jesus gets mentioned in even a short ceremony.
The worst part of the wedding (sorry Lil -- I know you read this, but I have to say this) was the reception. We had to wait over two hours for the reception to start. The wedding was finished at 7, and the reception didn't start until it was nearly 9:30. And I'd like to blame it mostly on having a little baby who needs to get to sleep early, but I can't, it was me, I was annoyed for me.
We finally left at 11, after we'd gotten dinner and had a bit of the cake. Sophia was in a pretty good mood right up until the end, at which point she started to seriously freak out.
Sunday (errr...today...I'm a little punchy myself) was the picnic. We packed up our hotel room and went to Lil's house, where huge quantities of food kept appearing. Well, there were Adlers involved in the food preparation. The dead cow meat wasn't scheduled to hit the grill until 3, and we had to leave at 2:30. But it's not exactly as if we were hungry.
We got on the plane and once again Sophia proved herself to be an excellent traveler. Well, except when she got hungry about ten minutes before takeoff, when she was already strapped in and ready to go. After a few minutes of trying to calm her down by giving her a finger to suck on, I finally leaned over and nursed her again while remaining strapped in my own seat. It's not a position I recommend, but it's sure handy knowing I can do it.
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Copyright 2000 Diane Patterson
Send comments and questions to diane@nobody-knows-anything.com