Salomé’s away for the next few days so it’s just me and the kids which, unfortunately means the kids and a babysitter since I’m at work every day this week. Originally, they were going to be down at my mother’s place in Virginia, but schedules got twisted around and they’re not going down until this coming weekend, at which point we head to Cancun!
Yesterday was a lot of fun, though, as the three of us headed to Glen Island Park for a family picnic with my cousin Joanne and her family, and a special guest appearance by our aunt Nereida. Part picnic, part group birthday party, Brandon and Cheyenne shared their birthday spotlight with me and I got my own goodie bag with a copy of Chris Ware’s Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth which has been on my Amazon wish list for two years!
We ended up with a huge spread of food and way too much beer as a few others didn’t make it, but a good time was had by all who did. Despite their age differences — from 4.5 to 12 — Isaac and India always have a good time with their cousins Cheyenne and Brandon, especially when they’re outdoors. There was a larger group next to us with a bunch more kids and they all played together while the adults hung out and relaxed. The park is right on the water and you can fish off the shore, and one little girl was walking around at one point with a six-inch fish in a plastic bag showing it to everyone. There’s also a ton of geese and the grass was a minefield of goose poop. (As we were packing up the cars to leave, a gaggle (?) flew overhead and one of them let loose in flight, missing Juan and I by about 10 feet.)
It’s fun to watch Isaac and India interact with other kids, especially ones they’ve just met. Isaac mostly played with Brandon while keeping a wandering eye on his sister, and a couple of times I saw him go over to make sure the other kids weren’t bothering her. India is pretty fearless when she’s in the mood to play and she was running around with the other kids screaming and hollering and having a good time. It’s funny because she’s definitely the tougher of the two of them and it’s more likely that she’d end up defending him on the playground if a fight broke out, but I love the fact that the two of them are so close.
It was the culmination of a busy weekend that found us in Nyack on Friday night at Johnny Rockets, and the Central Park Zoo and Nintendo World on Saturday, and by the time the kids were in bed last night, I was completely worn out. The next 2+ weeks are going to be a whirlwind of travel as we’ll be in Cancun for five days — no longer to relax and take it easy but, taking some good advice, looking to make some memories — and then it’s down to Virginia for a brief visit over Labor Day weekend to pick up the kids and then return to get ready for the new school year which holds its own promise of adventures of a different sort.
