Thicker than water

This past weekend has been an absolute whirlwind in terms of time zones and social activities, but a total breeze in the way of childcare. Jane never lacked for loving arms clamouring to hold her.

The premise of the trip was to surprise Grandpa (Daddy's father) for his 75th birthday. Out of his seven children, he thought five would be there (four live more or less locally and one had already planned to fly out over the 4th). Little did he know that his son and family from Washington would drive down and that his other son and co. - including great-grandchild - would also be there. It was a masterpiece of a surprise and a complete coup d'etat.

Michael and I flew out Friday night - or Saturday morning, rather, as our 9:00 flight didn't actually leave the ground until after midnight. Jane was mainly angelic, although an annoying flight attendant with a droning voice somehow got hold of the overcom rather more than was necessary and kept startling her awake. I swear, he must have skipped the elocution lessons at flight school. I think the only line he got right the entire flight was, 'Flight attendants, prepare for cross-check and arrival.' But all was well that ended well, and as what goes up must come down, we landed at last and none the worse for wear.

All the out-of-town contingent assembled in Dallas, and then we descended en masse upon the park, where the others were staging a party for Grandpa in the park. Somehow they distracted him, and while his back was turned we piled out of various cars, dashed across the grass, and broke into 'Happy Birthday' behind him. His expression alone was worth the whole trip - it truly was the best birthday present anyone could have given him!

The rest of the weekend was far too short, of course, and consisted of the classic Garber pastimes of eating, talking, and talking about food. I love being with family, and miss all the relatives so much. It was so wonderful for Michael to get a taste of what it was like growing up in the thick of all that. Garber family gatherings are sort of like My Big Fat Greek Wedding, except nobody's big, fat, or Greek. All weekend long we kept quoting the exchange: 'Are you hungry?' 'No.' 'Okay - I make you a sandwich.'

There were too many witticisms and special moments to recount, but one comes readily to mind from Tuesday morning at breakfast. Michael and I came to Aunt Rosanne's to pick up Leah, where she had stayed the night before, and had breakfast with Rosanne, Aunt Amy, and Leah. Just before our arrival, Rosanne walked into the living room and announced, 'Here are the choices for your dining pleasure this morning: a flop, and a probable flop.' And then, as she explained it to us when we arrived: 'The biscuit batter was all mixed up when I discovered I'd left out the egg. Now, a slimy egg is not something you can mix into a preconceived notion like that, so I just made another batch.' We tried several biscuits and couldn't even tell them apart.

Jane was the toast of the town, of course, and received widespread acclaim from all her uncles and first-cousins-once-removed, some of whom are barely eight years old. I only wish we could visit more often.