The Eclipse

 Oh, it was just the best time! Dylan and Brittani spent one night at our house. We had balsamic glazed pork, mashed potatoes, gravy and broccoli. My sister came and brought two loaves of bread and cooked up some parsnips for us, straight from their garden, to my stove, and straight to the table. Banana cake for dessert. 

(Note to self. My kitchen does not fit 11 people comfortably. The open concept in the new house will be a wonderful) But we had a good time, and we laughed together in that comfortable way of families. 

Ruby is 20 months old, and even though I saw her not too long ago, it boggled my mind to see how much more social she has become. She had hugs for everyone. She talks a bit, but one funny story. William brought down his marionette puppy from his bedroom upstairs. He walked the dog over to where Ruby sat on the floor, and made it dance around her and lick her cheek. Oh, how Ruby loved that. Ruby wanted that dog in the worst way and threw quite a tantrum about it. When her mother carried her upstairs, Ruby was roaring at the top of her lungs "UPPPPPPPYYYY!! UPPPPPPYYYY!!" I said, "Well. There's no mistaking that word." She was very tired. She had a long day, and it was past her bedtime. She went down with very little argument. 

Iris and I cuddled on the couch and watched Paddington Bear II, which was ridiculous, but she loved it. It was the great testosterone battle for William and his uncle. They both ate a pickled habanero to prove their manliness. (They do crap like this every single time they get together.)

Sunday afternoon, they headed out to Erie. They had a hotel room booked for two nights, and Iris was looking forward to the indoor pool. 

This morning, we all got up and headed to Erie to meet up with them. Their hotel was right next to a sports arena. It was one of the 'eclipse venues' around the city. My daughter Brianna and Don drove up in their car. William rode up with us in ours. We headed out about 9 am. We had heard so much about the terrible traffic, bumper to bumper traffic...but...nothing! It was like any other drive to Erie. It took us no longer than usual. 

With time to kill, we all went out to eat. Dylan treated us all, which was a nice surprise. We had a long leisurely lunch and then drove back to the hotel, parked in their lot and walked over to the venue. 

Ruby was totally befuddled by the astroturf. It was humped up in areas and she walked around studying the wrinkles, gabbling to herself, but throwing her little hands wide and saying, "Why? Why?" We had no answer. She was absolutely right. Grass would have been perfectly fine.

It was very cloudy, but the great thing is the clouds were scutting by quickly enough that even if the sun was obscured, it was not obscured for long. We were able to watch the sun slowly disappearing behind the moon. 

William and Iris were transfixed. As the spectacle reached totality, cloud cover briefly moved in. Iris shrilly screamed, "GET OUT OF THE WAY, CLOUDS!" which sent a titter of laughter through the folks seated nearby.

And it happened. As it got close, to totality, the music stopped, which was wonderful. Darkness fell, and everyone clapped. It stayed dark for nearly 4 minutes. Everyone quietly looked around. Lake Erie glowed red as if the sun was truly setting. It was a cool thing to see 300 people looking around in wonder, all of us in awe at what we were seeing. The temperature dropped noticeably and Iris requested her coat. William was snapping pictures, saying, "This is SO cool!" 

It was. 

And when it was done, we all could honestly say that it was a truly unforgettable moment, made all the more special by the fact that we were all together to witness it. 

I had so many little grandma moments. Can there ever be too many of those? 
I'm thinking no. 

Holding my hand as we walked, Iris said, "You are the best grandma in the world!" 

And she meant it with all her little 5 year old heart. 

Poor Dylan was in the throes of a major hayfever attack, so we decided to head home directly after the event instead of staying to visit with them. Ruby needed her nap, and Brittani was going to take Iris to the pool for an hour so that Dylan could have a nap right along with Ruby. 

The rest of us headed for home, despite all the warnings we had had about not doing that. 'Wait', we were advised. 'Give it a couple hours for the worst of the traffic to subside. Expect major delays!'

Again, nothing. It was an easy drive out of town. There was no more traffic than usual. It took no longer to get home than usual. Coming home in the car, William said, "I will never forget this day as long as I live!"I said, "I know that I will remember it forever." Grandpa said, "Me too." We all will remember the eclipse. Ruby will probably remember the astroturf. Memories all around. 

And when I got home, I carefully put the dandelion that Iris had picked for me between the pages of a thick old book. When it is dry, I will laminate it along with the note she wrote all by herself. 'I am so excited to see you.' 

It was just about perfect.