Providence

We've just returned from a 4-day sojourn in Providence with Audrey, our 3-year-old granddaughter. Kay had a conference to go to, and, while taking the baby was a must-do, she and Paul thought life might just be a little easier if Audrey were having fun at home with Nana and Papa instead of going stir-crazy in a hotel room in Montreal. Good thinking.

So I flew up Wednesday afternoon, followed on Friday morning by JC, and turned Audrey into a temporary only child. We kept to her schedule as much as possible, but there are a lot of spaces for ice cream, chocolate croissants (pronounced 'sur-lants' in Audrey-speak), and trips to the park, and dinners at restaurants in the interstices. We did a lot of watching Cat in the Hat and Dora and Blue variously solving the big issues of the day: a lack of honey! packing for vacation! what kind of boat to build for the Boat Float! We read all about everyone who goes to the potty. (Who knew that FIREFIGHTERS go to the potty? And construction workers! And waiters! And doctors and pilots and policemen and zookeepers...) We went to Whole Foods and bought a coconut, just so Audrey could hear the coconut milk slosh around when she shook it. And we got some brie with a fruit topping because they were giving out samples and she kept going back for more. (Which I hope explains the small wheel of brie and cup of topping in your refrigerator, Kay...) We found that, since August, Audrey has acquired a few new speech patterns: everything is 'super-' something. Super-warm, super-cold, super-hot, super-hard... and a lot of conversations start with "Do you know....?" The funniest of these was a discussion of dinner one night, when I suggested a local restaurant to JC. Audrey, listening in, turned to JC, tilted her head to one side, and said sweetly, "Do you know that Three Sisters (the cafe in question) has ice cream?" Needless to say, even though we did not go to Three Sisters for dinner, we DID stop by for dessert.

However, we did have a few obstacles to overcome. The hot water heater's pilot light gave out on Thursday, putting a moratorium on dish-washing, or warm baths or showers. Despite my attempts to re-light the pilot, we were without hot water for a day; but the landlord came through with a plumber to replace the pilot light assembly on Friday, thank god. We also encountered a few obstinacy issues--but who doesn't with a small child? Patience has never been my virtue, but JC had enough for all of us. And the storms passed, as they always do.

That is not to say that we were not totally tired out by the time we left. Home is so much easier. The older we get, the more we enjoy its comforts: hot water, knowing where everything is, and where to go to get things we need. We enjoy our own bed and television and wi-fi and kitchen sink, which is much better suited to our height than the one that Kay and Paul deal with daily. We like having a dishwasher and an ice-maker and going places without fumbling with a carseat and its 5 step fastening procedure, interrupted by a little girl who wants to know why Nana's car has a cargo cover instead of a trunk. Although the entertainment value of all these questions is well-worth the process. Having Audrey congratulate me ("Good job, Nana!") upon finding the place to pick up produce from the food co-op, and then bragging to the sign-in people that Nana FOUND the place was priceless.

We had a great time, but it IS good to be home. Especially when we know that they will all be here for Thanksgiving in just a few days.