The Family *roll

They say that regular posting is the life-blood of a good blog. We have failed. But we have a good reason: we were in Chicago for three days without Eleanor. How wonderful and stressful but mostly wonderful. We were very sorry not to be able to show-off Ellie to all of our friends, but it simply wouldn’t have worked out logistically. Much better, then, to leave Eleanor at home with my parents who jumped at the chance to have E. all to themselves, while Emily and I enjoyed some child-free time in Chicago. And enjoy we did. We were there for three nights, two of which were spent in an altered state of consciousness. We slept in. We met friends for breakfast, lunch and dinner at Korean & Thai restaurants. We slept in. We bought three dozen bagels from New York Bagel and Bialy, visited Dena in her very cool new office building (the Aqua), visited the new wing of the Art Institute. We slept in.

Most of all, it was so wonderful seeing all of our friends whom we miss very much. We’re very much in favor of the planned high-speed rail connection between the Cities and Chicago. Until then, we’re happy making the relatively short drive to Chicago, hopefully once a year (at least).

And Eleanor? She was happy as a (baby) clam with Lu and Aub, keeping to her naps and continuing her habit of sleeping 12 hours straight at night (I’ve just jinxed it, haven’t I?). We were certain she would start crawling while were gone. She didn’t, but she is oh so close. She did, however, learn how to shout, how to scoot about and how to refuse to wear socks. One of Emily’s friends offered the following interpretation: “First she tried to call you back home. When that didn’t work, she decided she’d come and find you herself so she could eat good food and dance barefoot on the tabletops. Go Eleanor!”

And, of course, a visit from Lu means a fantastic conversation. Those of you that know my mother know that she is nothing if not sincere. That might explain why her radar for sarcasm is non-existent, as evidenced by the following exchange which also captures my Dad’s spirit quite nicely:

Lucille, Aubrey, Emily and Daniel are watching the olympics on NBC when an ad comes on with Alec Baldwin in it. Aubrey, much to Daniel’s surprise, identifies Alec Baldwin.

Aubrey: That’s Alec Baldwin.

Emily: Yes it is.

Aubrey: We recently saw him in a movie with Meryl Streep*. Now what was it called? “Crazy Heart?”

Lucille: No, no. Not “Crazy Heart.”

Daniel: “Braveheart”?

Emily: (snort)

Lucille: No, no. Not “Braveheart.”

Daniel: “Schindler’s List”?

Emily: (SNORT)

Lucille: No, no. Not “Schindler’s List.”

Aubrey: What was it?

Emily: “It’s complicated.”

Aubrey: Yes. “Complicated.”

Perfect.

(Believe it or not, I didn’t take one picture in Chicago).