Round on the Sides and High in the Middle!

How we had Booper in the car- tethered sippy, a snack jar,
an apple, hanging toys, and a backpack full of diversions
to hand him when he fussed.

Rowan, making the best of it, at the motel.

One of my parrots, Tallulah, giving me the stink eye
for being crated so long.

Rowan with Pap Pap at the park.

That's right, Booper. This move was all about you.

So we arrived in Ohio on Wednesday the 21st and not a minute too soon! Poor Rowan was done. After we left Denver (where we stayed with friends for a few days and visited), we went back to stay in motels and Rowan promptly pitched a fit.

When we brought him out of the car, still sleeping, into our room for the night in Kansas City, MO and he realized that we were not "at home" (perhaps he thought our friend's home was our final destination?) he pitched a fit. He started hitting the wall and yelling "NO!" over and over. Poor baby.

We had one more evening of motel after that- in Indianapolis, IN. He was actually better after that- perhaps we had broken his spirit by then, poor thing.

We arrived in the small Appalachian Ohio town we will call home for the next few months in the afternoon, and Pap Pap was out in the yard. We had been telling Rowan that we were going to stay "with Nanny and Pap Pap" for a while and he grinned widely when he saw him. I am unsure if he recognized him on his own (we visited in March) or if he was happy because I told him, "Look! It's Pap Pap!" We took it easy for the rest of that day, then on Thursday we unpacked the car (you would be surprised at how much stuff can fit into a Honda Civic! Nanny laughed that it was like watching an old clown car scene as we took out our stuff.

We took fragile things that we did not trust to the movers, things we would need right away when we arrived (important papers, school work for me), travel things (clothes, diapers, food), and things for the birds and baby that were traveling with us. It was quite the haul.)

I got caught up with some school work on Thursday, then went to the BMV on Friday to get my new license plates for Ohio. Mine were expired from California when I arrived. Can I just say- going to the BMV in a small town is a breath of fresh air compared to Oakland, CA? Why I took a number, I'll never know, because I was seen next! It took an hour- including travel 20 minutes each way! When I arrived "home", I was sad to learn that my partner's uncle had passed away that morning. His heart attack was actually a blessing, as he was battling very aggressive cancer and this spared him a lot of pain.

The subsequent days we have been here have been filled with funeral and viewing preparations. I was glad to be able to help- I downloaded songs and created CDs for the viewing and funeral service. What seemed like no big deal to me was important and hard for them to do- so I was glad to be of help. I never got to meet Uncle Jack, we were planning on visiting him the day after he died. We just missed him by a day.

Sunday, we went to the Marietta, Ohio Unitarian Universalist Church and were delighted to learn that the congregation has grown and thrived since my partner first attended as a teen. The building has been renovated, there were close to 100 congregants, including families with children. Some of the people he knew back then were still there, and there were happy reunions. Rowan had a delightful time in the nursery playing with other kids (Finally! He really missed playing with kids since we left California).

Gad to be out of the car and in a park!

Afterwards, we went to an Auntie's home for family time before the scheduled viewing. Because of the funeral and viewing, many relatives we would not see right away came back into town. To Rowan's delight, there were also kids there for play. He imitated the baby, who is in that scoot-scoot, pre-crawl stage (and getting lots of attention!), and ran around with his older cousins playing with matchbox cars. (His older cousins were so patient and sweet with him. It was lovely.)

Today (Monday the 26th) is the funeral. Rowan is wearing his first ever suit- we got it on Saturday. It is adorable, complete with vest, tie, and pocket square. Tomorrow, we hope that the movers arrive with our things- I need to call them today to check in (living without your things is a drag). The rest of the week is filled with getting settled in Ohio and doing school work. This semester, I am taking "Dynamic Youth Ministry" and "Tibetan Buddhism". I will be working on a project in conjunction with the local UU church for that first class- stay tuned for details!