We just got back from a whirlwind weekend in 3 of Ohio’s Cs: Columbus, Cumberland, and Cleveland. I’m still in awe of how much we managed to squeeze in. Menininho was beyond a champ! I just wished we’d had more time to see people.
We got in Friday evening. I’m convinced that there are 2 keys to an easy flight with an infant: a Boppy and a sling. Menininho loved laying on the Boppy in my lap, which freed up my hands some. When he was ready for a nap, I just rocked him to sleep in the sling and then I could nap, too, since he wasn’t going anywhere.
It took forever to get our rental car (the company was out of small cars, even though that’s what we ordered, so they gave us a free “upgrade”: a jeep SUV. PERFECT for our cross-state roadtrip…not.) We met my brother Matt and his girlfriend, Deanna, at Polaris for dinner, then hung out at his apartment for a bit. It’s the last time I see Matt for a long time…he’s moving to New Orleans in a few weeks 🙁
Sat. morning Menininho and I had brunch with two of my girlfriends from grad school. To those of you in Columbus: I really recommend Vic’s Cafe on W. 5th street! Then, it was off to Cumberland for Chris and Erica’s wedding!
Chris and I have been friends since freshman year of high school. He and I were both in the percussion section. Freshman year we were part of a group of guys (I was the only girl) who would get to band early to play euchre. I’ve always been able to count on Chris. He even drove down from Ashland to come to Dad’s funeral. Every year we still get together at my place on New Year’s Eve with a couple of other guys from HS. I first met Erica at one of these parties, and I liked her right away. She is absolutely perfect for Chris and it just made my week that I was able to be at their wedding.
We left the reception a little early to make it to Cleveland at a reasonable hour. Menininho slept great and we were at Case early in the morning Sunday for Mark’s graduation. He had left the tickets for the Commencement ceremony (which is separate from the diploma ceremony) at home, so I needed to walk across campus to get spare tickets from one of my girlfriends. However, I ran into a little problem.
See, thanks to my pregnancy, I don’t quite fit into my dress shoes anymore. I’ve been living in my black flip flops. Old Navy flip flops really are the best. They’re cheap and form to my feet. I was just thinking the other day though, that I’ve had these for almost 2 years and maybe I should get new ones. Turns out I shouldn’t have procrastinated so much. Partway across campus my left shoe broke. Beyond repair. Mark ended up taking off one of his dress socks and putting it on my foot so I wouldn’t need to walk all the way across campus barefoot in the freezing cold. Fortunately for me, the bookstore had opened at 8 for all those graduates who had procrastinated getting their robes, and they had one pair of flip flops left in just one size smaller than mine. Whew!
The graduation ceremony was really nice. Menininho and I got to walk across the stage with Mark.
It was a great trip! Hopefully we’ll be back (longer!) for Thanksgiving 🙂