But Wait . . . There's More!

We spent the next ten days (including Thanksgiving) in Connecticut with Ed's family. All his siblings and all their kids were there, so it was a very, very full house. But I didn't care at all. The kids each had someone new to talk to and play with, everyone spoke English, the kitchen was fully stocked and I didn't have to do any grocery shopping or meal planning. I was surrounded by people who love and accept me. Life--despite the incredibly loud chaos of a family reunion--was wonderful.

I was really tired of taking photos, so this is the only one I took in Connecticut. It's Rachel and her fiancé Seth taking a nap  one afternoon.

We enjoyed a great Thanksgiving family photo shoot and a wonderful holiday dinner. The weather was good enough all week that the kids played outside a lot. They remembered their cousins from a visit just last July so they got along well. It was a great visit all in all, but by Tuesday, December 1 we were getting antsy to move along.

Ed had tablets to work on at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, so he spent Tuesday there while I drove the kids four hours to Philadelphia and checked into our apartment. He arrived later that evening on the train. We immediately went to get Philly cheesesteaks for dinner and enjoyed them so much we bought some the next night, too.

Abby was interested in the browning process for the steak.

Ed worked at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Anthropology and Archaeology for the next couple days while the kids and I explored historic Philadelphia. I couldn't keep them interested in much for long, but they did like seeing the Liberty Bell, the Bill of Rights, and Constitution Hall. They really liked the vintage candy shop near the Betsy Ross House and we got some great food at the Reading Terminal Market. It was much windier and colder than anyplace we lived in Europe, so I was grateful to be back in the land of the ever-present auto and in urban spaces planned around ample parking spaces.

Independence Hall is a tourist museum that sounds like a required stop in your sightseeing, but when you get inside you realize the only thing of historical significance is one of many copies of the Bill of Rights. The rest is a museum of contemporary exhibits. It does, however, have a statuary reproduction of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, complete with statues of everyone who was there. It was a fun exhibit, especially for Isaac.

I love Abby the Imitator hiding in the back of the photo.

Abby and Ben Franklin, this time with Isaac in the back.

Isaac is picking Thomas Jefferson's nose, I think. Ewww.

Independence Hall is right across the mall from Constitution Hall, and the evening gave us a lovely view.

The Visitor's Center had a dress-up area with cutouts of the Liberty Bell and George Washington.

Abby is sweet, Linda is tough. There's no question in my mind that they're born wired differently. 

I know, poor set design. We're standing in front of the Liberty Bell here, even though you can't see it.

Oh, there it is!

And then, Constitution Hall. The tour was decent and not too long, and the kids did really enjoy being in the room where both the Declaration and the Constitution were written and signed. I made the older three read a short history of the Continental Congress before we visited, and they were able to answer all the ranger's questions with pride. 

Of course, there was still plenty of goofing around.

Joe was fairly quiet, thanks to a random notebook I found in my backpack.

Our apartment in Philly was in an interesting neighborhood. Although between the apartment and downtown the streets seemed nice enough and well-kept, the streets we drove through to arrive there were pretty shady. It reminded me of some of the less-desirable parts of South Chicago, and I think if I hadn't spent so many years in Chicago I probably would have been fairly nervous and uncomfortable. The street we lived on was definitely the borderline--some homes kept up well, others not well at all. The inside of the apartment was well-renovated and furnished, but lacking a decent number of dishes and towels. The bathroom smelled moldy, but it all seemed normal for an urban row house like those we lived in and visited in Chicago. It was a little like going back in time. I remembered to use all three locks on the door.

And then we were off to Chicago!

This is Ed at a rest stop in Ohio. His last haircut had left him with an extra long spot in the front, and he kept it combed straight up for the whole drive to Chicago. 

We drove straight through on Saturday and spent a couple nights in Lake Villa with the Hicksons again. It's always great to see them, and the kids had a great time together. Jen had found the local ward for us, and I was amazed at how many of the Relief Society members knew her or of her from school and community organizations. I told them to keep working hard to to invite the Hicksons to lots of church activities. Monday morning we headed down to Hyde Park and met two of our old Jerusalem students (now married to each other and attending the U of C) for lunch at Giordano's. Yum. While Ed had meetings and appointments, the kids and I visited the Museum of Science and Industry (again) and, on Tuesday, the Garfield Park Conservatory (one of my favorite Chicago places). We were joined for both by Abi Gunn, one of the students, and it was great having her along.

The moon landing, with Isaac Armstrong and the MSI

The Garfield Park Conservatory:

Joe and Abi spent a very long time watching the fish. I don't know the two on the left, but they wouldn't get out of the way.

A panorama of the Palm House.

The show garden. 

A Christmas garden. 

I've always loved this Moorish tiled fountain.

The Conservatory always has interesting art exhibits installed among the plants. 

After the Conservatory it was lunchtime, but one of my favorite restaurants (I didn't go to many when we lived in Chicago--we were too poor) was the Bongo Room, a breakfast place in the south loop. I gave the kids a quick but passionate lecture on restaurant etiquette, then we went and ate three amazing pancake dishes: pumpkin cinnamon, Red Velvet and walnut, and caramel. They were delicious and so rich we barely finished them all between the seven of us. The kids behaved well, thank goodness.

Chicago (Hyde Park) was our last airbnb experience, and it was one of the most interesting. We stayed with a retired U of C professor of Human Development who recently lost her husband. She had two railroad apartments (long and skinny) that were mirror images of each other and connected through a closet that had been removed. Although we thought our accommodations were standalone, they were not. We had to enter through her front door and tiptoe past her bedroom, and there was a man staying in the living room area of our side who would walk past our bedroom at 6 am to use our bathroom (which we weren't aware of until it happened). She was really a nice lady and loved the kids, so despite the weirdness, it was a place I'd stay at again. I wish we'd had more time to visit with her.

Finally, we were headed home. We drove and drove and drove, and since the kids had been rotten one day in Philadelphia, no one was using any electronics. For anything. For the whole trip. And they survived, although at points they thought they were going to die of boredom. Instead, they played a lot of the alphabet game and stared out the window deep in thought. The best part was when Ed would tell stories about his time at the Air Force academy, boot camp, and downed pilot/POW training. Those sessions would last for hours at a time, with everyone thoroughly enjoying the telling or the hearing. It was some of the best family moments of the entire trip. 

There were a few times, though, when they would fight. Here are Isaac and Linda walking along the highway after we kicked them out of the car for being ornery. It was freezing out there in the Kansas wilderness, and Isaac had pity on the coatless Linda. 

We stayed overnight at a Marriott in Nebraska and got an early enough start the next morning (we were all anxious to go go go) to get home around 4 in the afternoon. The renters had left our home in pristine condition with clean sheets on all the beds, and Rachel and Seth had stew simmering in the crock pot. It was a wonderful homecoming.

As I write this on February 21st, I admit I still wake up in the morning so happy to be in my own house where I have everything I need or want to be comfortable. I'm so grateful the kids have school to go to and friends to be with everyday. I'm so grateful to know where all the food is in the grocery store, to know where to buy the cheapest gas, and to be able to understand all the people who work at any business I visit. I'm so grateful to have hours each day to read and sew and exercise, and I'm ready and happy to be with my kids each afternoon.

But there are things about our trip that I do miss: I loved watching the kids cheer and support each other while bowling, having fun together at parks, without distractions from other friends. There were times when all the kids (even Mary) would jostle to sit next to me on the subway, and Isaac frequently would carry the groceries or my backpack without being asked. Isaac would often give piggyback rides to Abby and Joe when they got tired, and everyone took their turn running after Joe to corral him when he was feeling adventurous. Abby learned more about being part of a team instead of a diva, and Linda would consciously work to be cheerful and keep moving forward even when she was exhausted or sick of it. I felt so often that the Lord was aware of me and walking with me and helping me to do more than I could have done alone.

The trip wasn't what I had imagined it would be, and I don't think I will see most of the benefits of our efforts for quite a long time. But there is one blessing that is already apparent: my children have learned to read the scriptures each day, individually and as a family. We're not perfect at it, but we're trying every day to get up early and read, alone and together. I have wanted for years to send my children out each day armed with the word of the Lord and the prayers of their family, but was worried they were too young to be woken up early, too young to pay attention. While we were in Europe, we tried to read every day, alone and together, and we are still trying to do it at home. This is the best gift I can give to my children--the habit of personal and family scripture study each morning. For all the things this trip was not, and for all the missed opportunities or difficult moments, I am still and nevertheless grateful that my kids are learning to love the scriptures.