The Nephews Win

That night I stopped in Sioux City, Iowa.  There were a cluster of hotels at the exit and I glanced at the familiar names.  Knowing the Super 8 would be the cheapest and feeling good about its general lack of sketchiness, I went in to inquire about their single nightly rate.  The kid behind the counter gave me the “manager’s special.”  Although I fail to picture him managing much besides his own teen angst, I gladly accepted the $39 rate and carried my bag up to the room.  It was large and smelled clean with a big, wooden desk and a comfortable chair.  The next morning I opened my blinds and was surprised to find the hotel was right on top of a trailer park.  I could see directly into a mint-green kitchen.  The awkwardness of that loomed large in my mind as I packed my bag and continued on, comfortable I’d solved the mystery of what made that a Super 8. 

Large patches of construction and holiday traffic made the drive slow and painful.  When I was at my breaking point, doing ten miles below the speed limit and forced into one lane, I looked at the shadows coming from the mini-van in front of me.  A small pair of arms shot straight up, paused momentarily and then started moving erratically back-and-forth.  This alone was enjoyable to witness but then a second pair of arms shot up next to it and grabbed the first pair, dragging them downward.  About ten seconds of armless-ness passed when the first pair shot up again only to be dragged down by the angrier pair of arms.  I watched this cycle repeat for the rest of the construction and couldn’t help but be amused by thoughts of sibling rivalries. 

Somewhere near Omaha, Nebraska there was a sign for the Lewis and Clark Trail.  My eyes followed its arrow to the right directly to an abandoned washer on the side of the highway.  Perhaps it was like Alice’s rabbit hole to an old timey world of wagons and scalping.  Wagons and scalping?  It sounded crazy even internally.  I shook my head and resolved to read more.

When the sun had fallen in the sky, I finally made it to St. Louis, Missouri.  Why stop in St. Louis if my next destination was a mere 3 hours away? 

Nephews…

 My sister and brother-in-law were also involved but I’m sure they would agree that they lack the cuteness and chubbiness of Calvin and his baby brother, Evan.  Doesn’t it look like baby Evan is pointing to me in the above picture?  I feel like it deserves a caption-contest.  What is he thinking?  Feel free to submit a guess.

After lunch with my sister, I made my way to Evansville, Indiana where there was yet another set of nephews.  Christopher got his haircut in the backyard, baby Samuel smiled and nibbled on his fingers and little JP caused trouble and yelled “Cheese” every time he saw my camera. 

Five years ago when the immediate family got together, there was conversation and excursions to the latest adult-comedy or independent film.  My brother, sister and I were 3 adults living in different states who wanted to catch up on each others’ lives and take crude, sarcastic jabs at whoever was talking.  Now as I sat at my parent’s house holding the baby and chasing JP, I watched my dad and brother cleaning up brightly-colored ants in the family room.  My dad picked one off the top of his chair, his facial expression questioning the distance the plastic ant had traveled.  My brother answered the question his face was asking, “You left the Pants unattended.  They got knocked over.”  Five years and five little boys later had taken its toll on our dialogue.

I stayed two nights at my parent’s house, thinking I would catch up on writing and start preparations for when I got back to New York.  I got little done outside of playing with the kids ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58kW3noXXEE ) and catching a cold. Even my few attempts at productivity were usually foiled.  At one point, I hauled my large suitcase out of the trunk and did laundry.  As I finished folding, I looked at the piles of clothes on my bed and let out a sigh of relief.  Before the breath finished leaving my body, the boys flew into the room and jumped on the bed.  JP reached immediately for the bright blue bra in front of him and dove his icing-covered face into it, wrapping it around his ears.  “Hello?!” he yelled into the cloth cups.  My first impulse was to quickly take it from him but instead I sat on the edge of the bed acceptingly and wished I had my camera.