Summer Vacation: Day 8

Alas, all good things must come to an end, and so it was with summer vacation with Daddy Jane and Grandpa Mel.

After packing and leaving the hotel, during which Helios helpfully wheeled out the luggage he shared with Hesperos, the family went to the local Denny's to meet Daddy Jane and Grandpa Mel for brunch and make our final farewells.






Although it looks quite like a routine brunch here, it was punctuated by visits to the restroom approximately every 10 minutes as Helios announced to the entire restaurant, "I need to go POTTY!" Sometimes he would put the phrase to music, occasionally telling us exactly what he needed to do in the restroom. While the format of a blog doesn't lend itself to notating music, you can share in a small part of our dining experience if you imagine the tune of "Happy Birthday" but with the words instead of, "I need to go potty, I need to go potty, I need to go water yucky, I need to go potty." When he wasn't rushing back-and-forth to the restroom, he was busy building bridges and trains with creamers and cutlery, before becoming bored with that activity and comparing teeth with Grandpa Mel.



Hesperos, on the other hand, eschewed such frivolities and simply kicked back on Daddy Jane's lap while munching on a handy spoon. He wasn't much for talking that day, preferring instead to enjoy what may have been the last few moments of attention that was totally devoted on him and his accomplishments, however minute. Does he eat a bite of applesauce? He's such a good eater! Does he lunge for a cup of scalding hot coffee? He's so fast! Does he drool incessantly and cough up a fur ball? He's just the cutest thing ever! Does he make a dirty diaper? He's...going back to Mommy and Daddy. Yes, even the love of grandparents has its limits. (Although we count our blessings that at least Hesperos doesn't sing about the substance that issues from his nether regions.)




After brunch, we all made our farewells to the sadness of all, but particularly for Daddy Jane and Grandpa Mel. We trundled ourselves off to the airport to make the 10-hour flight home. Once in the plane, Helios was mellow and fell asleep quickly. Daddy slumped over and took a snooze. Mommy read another excruciatingly dry book. And Hesperos just giggled at it all.