Summer Fades
October 24th, the day started like any other, except that when I gave the kids a bowl of cheerios, they situated themselves at a table in the sun room, divvied up the cereal without being asked to, and had a quiet breakfast. Within an hour or so, their Uncle Chris, my brother, was taken from us, and our lives and all the lives he touched, changed forever. See this image larger.
October 25th, Melissa packed up everybody’s stuff, organized and purchased the tickets. Within a day we were in Florida. She was brilliantly strong through this entire week and helped me immeasurably. I cannot thank her enough. Here Nina sits and waits for an evening snack, dressed in a really cute “Boo” shirt. See this image larger.
October 27th, I awoke to this sunrise at Joan and Don Dwyer’s condo. Dolphins frolicked in the waterway right outside the balcony. My Aunt Leslie and Uncle Gordon arranged for us to stay there; I’ll get into more detail in a moment. It was beautiful there, and not having to worry about a hotel and extra traveling helped us focus on what we needed to do. Thank you both so much! (And thanks to Joan and Don, as well!) This day was Chris’s “viewing” I think they call it. It was very hard to say good-bye. The video linked below was of Nina coloring at a restaurant on the way home. A difficult day. See this image larger.
October 28th, and Uncle Gordon’s postman hat became a fashion statement! See this image larger.
Yes, peekaboo, little one! See this image larger.
Ian gets in on the hat action! See this image larger.
Uncle Gordon took Ian and I down to the beach, he was brilliant with Ian in particular, who liked playing with him a lot. They played a lot of games and Ian was kept nicely distracted, which Melissa needed desperately, given that I wasn’t focusing too much on what was going on. Gordon also lent me some clothes which was a great help. See this image larger.
October 29th, in the morning Nina tried on my hat and shoes… didn’t fit! Go figure. Some great videos linked below show Nina babbling on the balcony about an owl, and playing peekaboo! See this image larger.
Aunt Leslie and Uncle Gordon came to the rescue for so many people in our family during this time… hosting us, comforting us, allowing us to rely on their strength. I don’t think I’d have made it through this time without their help. Unfortunately, Tara would end up in the hospital, making for a time when Les and Gordon could have used some of their strength back. Tara’s doing well now, but it was a very rough week for the Eaves family. Thank you all again for your help, I can’t say that enough. See this image larger.
My Aunt Millie read Ian a book on the iPad, keeping him entertained. See this image larger.
Sunset off of Les and Gordon’s front balcony. I saw a bird shape in the clouds, but it did not come out in a picture. See this image larger.
Nina peruses an issue of Glamour. See this image larger.
Honestly this is one of those moments that is too beautiful for words. I made a music video, linked below, of Nina playing patty-cake with my Uncle Ken… it’s a big video, but well worth a click. Uncle Kenny wrote “Thank you for letting me play with her, a moment that will not be forgotten.” While we’re on this subject, a day after we got home, Nina walked through our house doing the “roll it” part of patty-cake and said “Whargo?!?” (meaning “Where’d he go?”) She wanted to play again! See this image larger.
Nina snuggled up with Grandma Sue for a brief nap before we had to hop on a plane and head home. See this image larger.
A pelican or two at the airport wished us safe travels home. See this image larger.
Quietest, most peaceful flight ever on the way home… Ian and Nina both fell asleep within moments of take-off. See this image larger.
And they did not awaken until the plane started its decent in Michigan! There’s a brief video below that shows our four weary travelers, linked below. See this image larger.
Dialogue, October 26th
Ian: “Uncle Chris is my friend, and now I’m sad because he’s gone.”
Video, October 27th
Click here to watch a video of Nina doing a great job coloring. 2.7MB
Dialogue, October 27th
Ian: “I’m guessing ice cream is made out of ice and cream.”
Dialogue, October 27th
Ian, to my Uncle Gordon, who works as a mailman. The ellipses indicate where people started laughing so loud that he continued while ducking his face into his hands, embarrassed by the sudden attention : “Thank you, mailman… for the ice cream”
Video, October 29th
Click here to see a long but MUST SEE video of Nina investigating a fake owl. 9.3MB
Video, October 29th
Click here to check out a video of Nina peeking! This is a good one too! 5.2MB
Dialogue, October 30th
Ian: “God didn’t give me a sock power to let me to put my socks on!”
Video, October 30th
Click here to see a special music video of Nina and my Uncle Ken playing patty-cake! This is a big video, but it is really good, please watch! MUST SEE!!! 11.1MB
Video, October 30th
Click here to check out a video of my family of travelers! Very short video. 1.4MB
