Travel

We just returned from a trip to Boston where Talia was nothing more than a weight in my arms (a warm weight, a heavy weight). We lugged her around to tourist attractions and restaurants. She didn't get in the way much, other than the physical effort of carrying her when she tired of the stroller. She didn't react to the aquarium, was unimpressed by our fantastic meals and had no fun at a children's museum. The older kids had one good hour in each museum before getting the glazed over look in their eyes that all kids get after looking at interesting things for too long.I had a gut check in the children's museum when I said the absolute wrong thing to a mother and girl in a wheelchair. As the mom remarked in a friendly voice at how happy she was that the elevator was large I sputtered out "yeah, so big one could do jumping jacks in it". I immediately gave myself a inner brain smack. I'm sure if the woman wrote a blog, I would have ended up on it as that ass who says the wrong thing. No one is immune from good intentions coming out as idiotic comments. Good reminder to be more patient with people who speak with me and inadvertently say the wrong thing.Talia seemed profoundly happy to be back home. She took an incredibly happy bath and then seemed completely content in her high chair. She does know our home, our routine, her comforts. She laughed on the floor of our playroom and we took a "tickle break". I know that when Talia laughs it means she is ready to interact with us. Ready to receive our love and show tangible results that she loves us. No far off stares, no neutrality. She laughed with her whole body. She cooed like a cat. She vocalized and made herself laugh at the sound of her own voice. She is happy and we are happy making her happy. The fact that these tickles ALWAYS result in enormous amounts of spit up do little to dampen the joyous way I dig into her ribs for the desired effect. I just keep tickling until at some point my tickles don't work anymore and with little warning she stares off again. I'm grateful for the time with her and try not to long for more (although I always do).