I pulled Reid from her bed, where she was sleeping quite happily, thank you very much and carried her to the bathroom as she cried and asked to sleep some more. How glad I am that I don’t have to see her cry when I wake her very often! “This is what a two-year-old with jet lag looks like,” I told Ken. Reid perked up, though, and we got into the car to head for Trenton. I sat with Reid in the backseat to read and entertain my girl. I had flashbacks to being squished on the airplane. All too soon, we had to give Daddy hugs and kisses (again I waited my turn). As we started to walk away, I suggested that Reid give Daddy another hug and she replied, “I did it.”. I explained that it would be a long time before she could give him another and she did. Apparently Reid needs to ration her hugs carefully.

Reid and I headed to see Grandma Barb and Grandpa Terry. We needed to stretch our legs before the return trip to Ottawa and grandparents seem to be willing to put up with us. Reid referred to “My dad’s mom” a few times. Her fascination with relationships seems to be continuing. In the unmatchable way of small kids, Reid managed to cause me embarassment by insisting on calling Terry “Grandpa Keith”. Terry and Barb weren’t concerned but it wasn’t *their* kid. It was Grandpa Keith’s birthday on Saturday. We practiced singing “Happy Birthday” many times and had discussed that his birthday was next once mine had passed. I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised with the confusion but I was. Overall, Reid had a good visit, mostly with Grandma Barb since Grandpa Terry needed to nap in preparation for working nights. I made Reid get dressed before I took her outside to play. By the time she was getting her socks on, it had started raining. We went out for a bit anyway. Reid “hid” behind a tree and each of the shrubs in back of Grandma Barb’s apartment building. Some of the shrubs are shorter than Reid and so she crouched. Some of them are so short that Reid would have had to lay down to truly hide. Since we were watching her take up her “hiding” position anyway, we overlooked the times when she was taller than the “tree”.

After lunch, we climbed back in the car and Reid fell asleep within minutes. She woke after only an hour and I told her that it wasn’t waking up time. She must have agreed, because she went back to sleep. By the time Reid woke again I was squirming in my seat. Drinking tea helps me stay awake but it does make those rest stops very important. We went in and Reid had her usual stream of questions for me while she used the bathroom and stood in line for a drink. The woman at the Tim Horton’s counter was awful. She tried to tell me that all of their bag teas are decaf even though while holding two kinds of orange pekoe, one of which was labelled decaf, and then she told me I hadn’t ordered an extra-large. I just couldn’t take it. I was tired and didn’t want to argue so I left everything there. I only wish I had ordered the cookies first so it would have been more of a hassle for her. Reid was confused but okay once I bought her a chocolate milk from another place. They didn’t sell cookies and so I saved the calories/cost. As an added bonus, my anger woke me up and we got home safely. Soup for supper, a bit of puzzle building, a bath and it was bedtime. I survived day one of 14 without Ken.

Ken’s mom has a little stool with the quote I’ve used as a title to this post. I’ve liked it for a long time.