Take One Down, Pass It Around

When we left for Utah, Michael and I were both nursing terrible colds. We had just enough time to have a few days reprieve from the constant dripping of snot when he caught another cold from his cousins. So once again I am relegated to being a snot rag first and a mother second. It's funny how people will tell me, "You have something on your shoulder," as if I didn't realize I had a shirt full of glistening nasal discharge.

Our flight home was prolonged, to say the least. Michael was so excited to see his daddy that he pestered, "See Daddy? Airplane! See Daddy?" all day long. After a two-hour delay in the airport and some trouble getting off the ground, he was ready to be done as soon as we got started. This culminated in a hysterical sobbing fit near the end of the flight to "See Daddy! My see Daddy!" which lasted over an hour. Surprisingly, the number of dirty looks from other passengers was quite minimal, though I suppose it is slightly cuter for a child to be crying for his daddy than for no reason at all. I was surrounded by very nice people who apparently understood the concept that no one wants a child to be quiet more than his mother.

On approach to the airport Michael was still wailing. Nothing would distract him from the fact that Daddy was still nowhere to be seen, and if I tried to divert his attention by singing or talking about something else, he would slap my lips and shout, "No! Daddy!" This got worse, when, as we were only 1000 feet off the ground with landing gear ready, the plane suddenly jerked upward and we began climbing again. Air Traffic Control had apparently messed up the sequencing, so we had to circle around the airport for "ten minutes" which turned out to be forty-five. Michael finally conked out ten minutes before we landed, of course. We finally arrived home and fell into bed at about 2:30 AM.

But, we are here, at last, and it is good to be home! The security guard and concierge were thrilled to see Michael and fussed over him for a good five minutes before I could leave the apartment to take him on his promised train ride. We got to go see the dinosaur and play with the train set at Toys R Us, and then picked up a sandwich for lunch, where Michael got his usual tray of pickles and a free cookie to boot. (The manager just adores him and gives him pickles and other free stuff every time we go in).

Now Michael is back to having no one but his boring mom to play with. We miss you already, cousins!