What A Day!

Last Friday, Luke and I went to Winnipeg to visit a few friends. We visited Connie, Jolene, and it even worked out that we got to visit Megan! We left the house at 9am but didn't actually leave Winkler until 10:30, which made for a very long time in the car seat. It was a very long day. But Luke was a great traveller, considering our history with driving in the car seat. He slept most of the way into Winnipeg, and when he woke up he swatted at his frog until we got to Connie's.

Connie and I had planned to have lunch together. She said, "We'll order something". But what you don't know about Connie is that she's Italian, through and through. When I got there she had been cooking, I could smell it. Now did I really think she'd let a guest come over and eat take-out? She made this delicious parmesan and egg soup. We ate it with delicious, warm bread. I ate two bowls full! And just when I was about full to the gills she walked to the oven and pulled out...veal parmigian and mashed potatoes! I would not have been able to stuff any more in except it just melted in my mouth...and then came dessert! Coffee and a plate full of pastries and fresh fruit. It was all so delicious. But the best part of the whole visit was, of course, introducing Luke to his one and only Nona. "God bless him!" she said over and over in her Italian accent.

When we got to Connie's house Luke desperately needed a diaper change. Connie put a towel on her bed and we opened up the fullest diaper I think I have ever changed. Of course he decided to parade this around in front of his new friend. Men. Well, we got it changed and visited and ate in the warm kitchen and pretty soon Luke was drifting off. I laid him down in the middle of Connie's bed and we got to visit for another half hour or so. We had a long-needed visit. We heard that the new tenants in our old house are apparently hard party-ers. Too bad. Before I knew it, two hours had gone by and we had to move along.

On the way to Jolene's house, Luke cried a bit. He wasn't happy to be back in the car seat. But it was just a short trip across town and we were at Jolene's. Luke was full of smiles and even gave a few giggles during his diaper change, and was, on the whole, a joy to be with. We chatted and went shopping and Luke got an Eric Carle book, two towels and a set of washcloths from his auntie! The hours flew by and once again, it was time to move on.

We set out for the country, towards home. Domain is about a half hour South of Winnipeg. We met up with Megan in the field where her family had taken a break from harvesting the wheat and was eating hamburgers and corn on the cob. The sun was just getting low on the horizon when Luke and I bumped down the dusty road and saw, for the first time, a John Deere combine in the field. We hiked through the crunchy wheat and Megan and Luke climbed up on the combine. Dad, it was a beautiful sight, seeing my son on a big John Deere beast. Hopefully at Christmas you can introduce him to the cotton picker.

It was so great to introduce Luke to people who love him. Connie, Jolene, and Margot (Megan's Mom) have all looked forward to meeting him. I am finding it difficult to find the words to express just how beautiful and wonderful it is as Luke's mother, to see him loved so intensely. When someone grabs him out of my arms and showers him with hugs and kisses, and smiles at his drooly chub, my heart is too full for words. To be surrounded by people that love me and love Luke because he IS, is just the best feeling in the world. So even though it was a long day away from home, it was incredibly fulfilling.