The conference was the excuse (and the means), sightseeing was a side pursuit, but visiting family was the best purpose of our trip. The girls and Charles had a great time with cousins, aunts and uncles, and grandma when our family photographer (me) was attending conference meetings, then we got to visit with more family when we went to the Pittsburgh area. The first photo below is of the girls and Charles with Charles' grandmother; the photo on the steps is with Charles' mom and one of her sisters on the steps of their Great Grandmother's house; both girls had a great time with their cousin (with K playing football below right); and we even got to go to Akron to have lunch with my Great Aunt (bottom left).
While we were in the Pittsburgh area, we made time for what I call, "the Charles tour," in which he gave us a driving tour of the houses he has lived in (and even the location of the one that was torn down). En route he also covered the fields he's played, the schools he attended, the creeks he caught crawdads in, and more. Later, K added, "he even showed us his first memories!" I remember loving stories of my parents as kids when I was their age and giving a visual setting to the stories not only made the recollections more memorable, but brought out new stories from Charles.
It was also wonderful to look through their Grandma's albums together to see their Dad, Grandma, and others when they were all younger. I have noticed that kids often most easily connect with other kids and so giving them the chance to relate in a different way to Daddy, his siblings, and now-grown cousins as kids was great. We had a similar experience when we were in Akron, showing the girls the house my mother and her siblings grew up in. We briefly explored the woods behind and the railroad tracks nearby, which was like Charles' memory tour but in this case punctuated with place names like "Wolf's Cave" and "Indian Ledge" that evoke images of fabulous adventures and great fun. (Apparently, Ohio in the 1940s and 1950s lacked PC-awareness. Ooops!)
When we were kids, my parents took us on many camping road trips, often visiting amazing places. But, as much as I love such things now, I remember at the time just wanting to play and my memories to this day are more clearly of the other kids we played with and the clubhouses we built than of monuments, magnificent sites, or my parent's adult friends (unless they had kids). So I can't help wondering how much of this fantastic trip they will remember and my hope is that what sinks into their consciousness is 1) love of family and appreciation of time together and 2) a love of exploring and learning.
A funny story from the trip launched this reflection: we visited several friends during our trip, wonderful people we have known from different former workplaces or volunteer endeavors, most of whom we haven't seen for a long time. We are grateful to Susie and John; Jessica, Ray, and Matthew; and Zoe and her girls for their time and friendship. We are also grateful for our vist with Jill and Sage; they most recently lived in Egypt and I got to hear their firsthand story of a dramatic evacuation and separation when headline events crashed into their lives. Sage is in her first year of college now and at one point G asked me for something and I directed her to ask our host, Jill. "Which one is Jill?" she asked. "The mom," I answered, thinking my description was obvious. "But which one is the mom?" she replied. I thought this was funny, having forgotten that what seems so obvious to me is so much less so to a young child for whom all adults, whether 18 or 50, are pretty much the same age.
This exchange reminded me that for kids, our adult chatter will blur in their memories, but they will cherish the time they spent with important people who played with them. Aunt Danyell is held in high esteem because she taught G dance moves and encouraged an impromptu performance by the girls (dancing by G and dramatic monologues by K); Uncle Junior likewise is super cool because he played ball with them again (last time was in Las Vegas, which they remembered); and of course Grandma is special beyond words and has always been in a loving class of her own.
Happily, they do entertain themselves well even when the visiting is on more adult terms and I was so appreciative that we got time to catch up with loved ones. Charles and I also staggered our attention well; we each most enjoy having our whole family together, but it was great to allow each other moments of adult visiting while the other supervised the exuberance of the girls' play.
All in all, a great trip. Now on to the happy chaos of a new term at school, catching up with the girls' learning activities, finishing unpacking, and finding time to catch up on lagging work projects while implementing the new ones I dreamed up while at these last two conferences.
FINAL NOTE: Yes, that orange Giants shirt does appear repeatedly. It had to: it has been proven to be good luck. Happily, K's diligence on behalf of her team paid off. Congratulations, San Francisco Giants!