Call It What You Want...

Today Tim and Mark and I packed up and went to visit Grandma. We haven't been up to see her since she got out of the hospital, because last week Tim couldn't get Grandma & Aunt Betty on the phone when he planned to make a trip with Mark. Our arrival in the grand City of Firsts was delayed a bit by Our Fair Town's "Parade of Homes" -- though not what the parade of homes usually is. (Rather than US parading through varied show homes, we watched as two 100-year-old houses and an accompanying carriage house-turned-garage traveled through downtown, from their previous home on south 10th Street, south a couple blocks, west to Eighth Street, then traveling on south to their new locations at Walnut and five blocks south; don't ask me where the garage goes...)

ANYWAY, when we got to Aunt Betty's, cousin Susan was also there, as she is staying and looking after both old gals (Aunt B is a month shy of 79; Grandma is 95). Mark turned on the charm immediately, which was fortunate as, when I walked through the door, Susan handed me the telephone and took the baby. (Turns out Mom was on the phone. fortunately not a stranger.) Fortunately Mark likes people, even strangers, especially if they're grandmas. And this week he's been agreeable to everyone, even his Auntie Ericka, for whom he often cries, just to scare her.

Mark played with all the grandma-types, making goo-goo eyes at Grandma and showing her how much better he likes her when she's not all black-and-blue in the hospital. Then he showed Aunt Betty his wonderful musical ball, and cuddled with Susan. Then Aunt Jeannie arrived, and he turned cranky. NO! It had nothing to do with her! Having skipped his morning nap and glossed over his afternoon shut-eye, he was tired -- seriously tired -- but refused to give in, lest he miss something important. He played with Aunt Jeannie for a while, then got passed back and forth between her and Susan as he would stick his hands out for whichever one didn't have him.

So we had fun family time. Mark played flirtatious, showed the grandma-types all the neat things he can do, got oohed and ahhed over, and generally lived in his element. Then he took two counties to fall asleep on his way home, woke up for supper and played with dad. Maybe it'll be a good sleepy night.

Pictures were adorable and are posted at our gallery.