Usually, I put six sock and six shoes on little feet before my minivan door closes and we go on an outing. I open the door again to find one sock still on and shoes nowhere to be found. In sunny Florida shoes are toys and not clothes. It's hard to convince kids who've never seen temperatures dip below the thirties at night or felt textures harder than beach sand or springy Augustine grass that shoes protect the feet.
That changed in early December. A surprising but not altogether unexpected phone call on a Tuesday morning informed us that my grandfather had passed away in his sleep. I processed the news as the kids played with resignation and a vague sense of deja vu. My grandmother's death just seven weeks earlier was still fresh in my mind. I mentally prepared for another week of taking care of the kids by day and being there for my family by phone and skype by night.
Then, in the course of an hour, what I had considered impossible came true. While talking over the sad fact of having to miss two family funerals, Craig suggested I go with the girls while he stayed home with Devon. I'm not sure if many would agree, but we talked it over and decided that one tenuously potty trained two-year-old would be hard to travel with, while two one-year-olds could still be kept relatively still and entertained. Craig requested leave from work to be there for Devon while Mommy was gone. I had to phone Delta because the online ticket generator wouldn't accept that I had a lap child AND another one-year-old for which I was purchasing a seat.
The day before we left, I decided to buy the girls their first set of snowboots.
Craig had put off air travel as impossible for now. We haven't even been back to California since the girls were born. Thankfully, our car seats are FAA approved, so I was able to fly with one girl on my lap and one buckled in next to me. Our flights were relatively uneventful. Carrie passed the time by kicking the empty seat in front of her, Melina let forth a trademark sad wail when I wouldn't let her get down, and I remember one awkward span of time I made a bag of yogurt melts our sole occupation for forty-five minutes.
In Minneapolis I had thirty minutes to make it from Gate A-2 to Gate F-17. A few passengers on the motor belts were pretty awestruck at the sight of be bearing down on them and then clipping away in the "walk" lane with a sleeping baby and a car seat in my double side-by-side stroller, another baby bumping along sleepily in the Ergo on my chest, and a purse and a diaper bag flapping behind me.
I was the first to arrive at the Minot gate, followed shortly by my aunt, uncle, and cousins. They hadn't yet received word that we were coming and were excited to meet the girls for the first time. We were joined by my brother and parents a few minutes later. It was a strange reunion, as mom and dad had planned to fly to Florida for Christmas in just a few more days.
Melina was sleepy, but Carrie led Aunty Becky on energetic laps around the terminal. After hours of cramped conditions, it was strange to look way off in the distance and see my baby coming towards me. Barefoot, like always. Hmmm.
The flight into Minot was much easier.
The girls were skeptical of the immediate wardrobe change upon our arrival, but they enjoyed meeting Aunty Naomi and running free around the terminal.
I felt a stab of nostalgia for Kentucky's cold winters as I stepped outside into weather that could easily be ten below zero with windchill-- 100 degrees colder than Florida! I spent a few moments musing about how different our lives would be if we stayed there, or even moved somewhere colder!
The girls listened quizzically to the crunch of snow under car tires as we drove home.
The cold immediately pinked their cheeks and made their usually spiky hair lie flat against their heads, making them look like different children. Thankfully all the attention from the adults gave them plenty to do.
They also found things to play with. Some weren't even supposed to be toys.
My girls were even persuaded to wear their new boots for five whole minutes! The most exciting part of the trip was their first experience with snow.....
...or maybe it was Muffy kitty. A cat that doesn't run from children is very, very exciting.
I enjoyed seeing my cousins. Two of them I saw last when I was in college and they were children, so it was like meeting them all over again.
I feel so blessed to have been able to speak at the funeral, attend the shortest and coldest graveside service in memory, and spend time celebrating the lives of my grandparents. If they hadn't passed away just seven weeks apart, I probably would've still considered the trip impossible. Thankfully, my whole family was on board with the idea of us coming and worked very hard to make us comfortable. I think the sight of two energetic girls careening down the church hallway towards the double doors or trying to sneak flowers out of the funeral sprays was comforting in the face of loss.
Meanwhile, Devon and Daddy enjoyed an epic staycation that included three trips to the beach. As you can see, shoes were optional.
