Tuesday January 22, 2008

This last weekend the three of us were up in West Hartford, Connecticut. We spent our MLK vacation with my wife's best friend and her family. They have a daughter who is five or so months younger than Dipity. Her nap schedule doesn't overlap at all with Dipity's. They eat at different times. And it was freezing cold. So, we spent most of our visit inside of their house.

Visiting a friend used to mean you had a chance to explore whatever place they were calling home at that moment. Now, it wouldn't really matter where our friends lived. The only thing that really matters now when it comes to friends home's is distance. How far are they from our house? How far are they from the expressway? How far are they from the airport? How far will we be from Dipity at night? How removed from children are these people. And how close are we to these folks?

This weekend we had a four hour drive, ten minutes of which was non-highway driving. We drove, so I don't even know if they have an airport. Besides, they are well within the it's not worth it to put up with flying with a toddler radius. We were not in the same room as Dipity, but still within earshot. Also within earshot was their toddler, who was actually louder than Dipity, so there was no screaming/misbehaving/schedule ruining toddler related guilt. And, my wife talks to this person all the time, who is her best friend and was maid of honor in her wedding (which was also mine), so we would have put up with a less advantageous set of distance variables. Besides, they have a huge house and a huge television.

We didn't spend every moment inside though. We saw two of Hartford's streets up close (the two closest to our host's house). The kids rode in their wagon. Dipity was a screech. Her snowsuit (a hand me down from one of my wife's work colleagues), was straight out of the 80's. It was very pink, very goofy, very clearly sporting a cheerleader with pom-poms, very much clashed with her purple hat and gloves, and was very free. Dipity's boots, which we purchased ... from a church sale, light up when she walks. Dipity's attitude didn't light or lighten up. She had a cold, and no sense of humour when it came to the snowsuit, the wagon, her cold, the close proximity of the other toddler, the camera, or ... anything else. Maybe she was reflecting on the immensity of MLK and his legacy, and the large part of his vision still unrealized. Maybe she had gas. With a toddler you never can tell.