Finally, A Visit

Wifey and I haven't been in the same location of our grandson in probably 4 weeks. This is, or can be, normal when your family lives far away, but we live, in times of reduced traffic, 25 minutes away. Well, yesterday we got a reprieve.

I got in all of my anxiety walking early, and came home and showered. And then we left the house, for the first time in weeks. First, a stop at Walgreens for Wifey's meds -- somehow she hadn't quite gotten around to switching them to home delivery like I had -- so we pulled up to the drive in and got her stuff.

Then I went to Big Tomato, a healthy-ish pizza place D1 loved when she was growing up in Pinecrest. I loaded up on pies, and a salad and wrap, and decided to surprise Joey with some chicken wings. We took advantage of one of the few benefits of the pandemic -- traffic levels from the 80s. We really cruised the new highways -- up the Palmetto to the Dolphin to 95, with zero slowdowns.  It brought back memories of travel times when I was in college and law school -- when you worried about crime in Miami more than traffic. Those two urban woes have completely switched.

Speaking of crime -- another nice statistic. There were ZERO murders in Miami over 7 weeks -- for the first time since 1957, before I was born. That little piece of RNA is doing what people, at least for now, have abandoned...

I pulled up to D1 and Joey's hood, punched the gate code, and let ourselves into the backyard. We were early, of course, and D1 came down and outside. It was mercifully cool. We wanted to hug. We air hugged. She went to fetch our boy and her husband and nanny. Wifey and I ate our pizza and wraps.

And then the more than 4 month old, chubby future of our family appeared, smiling, in the arms of Betty, the new nanny. Wifey melted. We sang to him. We made funny noises. We made sure he knew who we were. We air hugged him, and wished so it could be real hugs.

We caught up, all of us, on the patio. I had sprayed Cutter to ward off the mosquitoes, who congregated under the 100 year old live oaks surrounding the house. I left the bottle with Joey -- so he could spend more time outside.

We laughed about the challenge of a marriage with constant togetherness. Thankfully, they're blessed with the sense of humor Wifey and I have. It was a delightful visit.

D2 FaceTimed in, to show us HER furry child, the ever growing Betsy. Jonathan was hard at work on his computer -- catastrophes are opportunities for private equity -- his gig.

It was time for the nightly baby walk. Wifey and I left, smiling. It was the best Sunday afternoon we'd had since the quarantine.

We drove home, and Wifey found a decent movie to watch: "Bad Education," based on a true story of a huge embezzlement on Long Island -- Roslyn, to be exact. It was a decent tale and well acted. I told Wifey that, in the very late 50s and early 60s, my Dad had finally earned enough from his multiple jobs to climb into middle class. The family joined the Rosyln Country Club -- probably the poorest members at the time.

I never heard nice tales from those times -- in fact -- the opposite. A few years later, I came along, and they moved out to Central South Nassau County -- to the first house my family owned. Funny how a town's name, like Roslyn, can trigger so many memories.

Anyway -- I went to sleep thinking of my grandson -- how someday I hope to be able to tell him tales of the very infamous times of his very early childhood.

For now, though, I just savor how beautiful and chubby he is -- growing strong on his mother's milk, and surrounded by so much love, albeit some of it from a distance of over 6 feet away...