Ode To A Friday Morning

Jack woke up this morning with a very large grin on his face. He changed out of his night-time pull-up and into his favorite Spiderman underoos. He decided the aluminum foil in his window (our way of tricking him into darkness at bedtime, since sunset now comes to our neck of the woods at the ungodly hour of 9:30pm) was no longer wanted and, very sweetly and carefully, removed it from the window pane. Then? He brought it to me in neatly wadded balls for the trash can. I informed him we should recycle all that foil. Eyes bright! "I will put it in the recycler, Mommy!" "Not without putting on some pants first, you won't, little man." "Awww, MAN!" And of he tromped, up the stairs to find a suitable pair of shorts. Then my genetics kicked in and, ADD assured, he thought to stop and let the dog out of his crate in my bedroom.

I can hear him now, talking to the dog about hurrying outside to go potty. Like a miniature version of me, championing Gizzy along to go and do his business. Positive reinforcement is apparently not lacking around here when it comes to matters of bowel function.

SO! I promised I would talk more about our vacation last week. It was short, sweet, and over much too soon. We drove to Canton on Monday and immediately landed on a tour of Harry London's Chocolate factory. This tour is short, sweet (pun intended) and just about right for small children to get the thrill of seeing all that candy without actually being able to get into any trouble. The tour itself starts with a free piece of chocolate and a short video about Mr. Harry London, himself. Following that, we were led into the room where they store the jillion-gallon tanks of hot, melted chocolate. Also? There was caramel, peanut butter, and confectioner's candy (aka "white chocolate") Next, it's up the stairs to a closed-in walkway above the factory floor. Jack pressed his little face up against the glass of the windows so firmly that I believe we might have left permanent impressions behind. For which I refuse to apologize - they really should expect such things in that place. I had to restrain myself to keep from licking the glass, so thick was the air with floating chocolate particulates.

After the factory tour and a quick check-in at our motel, it was off to my sister's. We took the tour of her new house, then packed up our respective broods into our respective mini-vans and headed out to a local restaurant for the biggest and most beautiful Reuben sandwich I have ever eaten. It consisted of pounds of corned beef and miles of swiss cheese. I ate the entire beast, and I regret nothing. It was sheer bliss.... as was catching up with my sis, and seeing her 3 youngest progeny. They have grown into real people. How this happened, how they have grown into actual humans from the toddlers I remember, is mystifying to me - as I refuse to believe I have aged as much as that. But they were lovely, and it was the perfect end to the day.

Day 2 was our trip to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. For T, this was a visit to Mecca. The building ("The Big Juicer" as our friend Kirkiez refers to it) is really not so unique looking from the outside - save for the giant, elongated football shape that protrudes from the rooftop. I found it somewhat oddly phallic, but admittedly that could be because my mind is a cesspool. I'll let you judge for yourself when I finally post the photos (tomorrow, I swear!).
It was interesting to learn all about the history of football, the teams that didn't make it (The Boston Shamrocks! The Canton Bulldogs!) past those early beginnings. Of course, we scoped out the Superbowl Rings (I kept thinking "Wonder Twins! ACTIVATE!") and the bronze heads of all those who have been inducted to Football Nirvana. It was all so impressive, it nearly convinced me to stop dreading the start of football season this year. Nearly. I'll maybe attempt to understand the regular season competition if T will at least forego the pre-season games. (Hear that baby?). The "I have to check out the players so I can put together my fantasy league team" excuse is not holding water with me this time. Pick up a Sports Illustrated and move it along.

Day 2 was capped off with a cookout back at my sister's, where we were joined by her husband - back early from a cancelled business trip. Except for my back (which earned me no end of taunting as I hobbled around like a 90-year-old woman) it was pure delight. Comfy and cozy and family and good food and all that is golden and soft-focus about summer.

Especially when I nailed an empty can with the pellet gun. From the back deck. At 50 feet. On my first and only try. Ka-Pow! Do not mess with me, because I will totally bruise your delicate bits with my pump-action pellet-gun prowess. (I need to get that on a t-shirt).

Day 3 was a jaunt up to the Akron Zoo. Yes, I saw snow leopards. I was actually left quite unimpressed, as they dozed under the hiding shade of a heavily-leafy tree. The river otters, on the other hand, provided quite a thrilling show. I giggled like a hyena, watching one of them dive and roll and swim through an underwater hollow log and such. Jack caught my enthusiasm, and we spent a good 10 minutes in front of the glass.. just watching the silly, carefree antics. I'm ambivalent about zoos in general... It's thrilling to see the animals up close that could otherwise be viewed only in pictures or on the telly. And I do understand that some valuable research comes of keeping these animals in captivity. But then I imagine how sad and depressing it is to be stuck in the same 4 walls for a long time. Then again, since there's not much I can do about it and - hey - we had a lovely day... well, I'll just leave it at that and enjoy the souvenirs from the gift shop. (A fridge magnet and an explorer's hat for Toby.)

And then it was off again home. The trip that took 5 hours going up was extended to 7.5 hours going home, thanks to the rain storms blowing across our path. This is where I once again stop and thank providence for the invention of the onboard DVD system. Curious George comes highly recommended, as you won't go insane listening to it over and over. (Thank you, Jack Johnson, for making such a re-listenable soundtrack. You deserve a special place in heaven).

So now we are home, a week has past, T started his new job, and life continues on.

T departs for the wilds of Prague on Sunday, so we're celebrating his birthday with his parents tomorrow. Which means I get to make a cake! (CAKE! Have I mentioned I love to make cakes?) And we'll probably try to do some sort of combined celebration for him and Jack when he gets back from ordering pibos with those wild Czechs.

Ahhhh, Summer. Whoever said these days were lazy did not lead my life. But at least these days are sunny and warm. I'll find my peace where I can.