A little over 18 years ago, my wife Ellie and I wedged our newborn daughter Emily into her Evenflo car seat with the padded roll in it to keep her head from lolling to the side, and drove her home from the hospital. During the drive, I played Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World" in the car's CD player. Emily slept, but Ellie and I bawled the whole way home. It was a brutal ride.
Three years later when we drove our son Will home from the hospital, I played "What a Wonderful World" again. It seemed appropriate. After all, I didn't want to be accused of not treating him the same as Emily. Plus, I figured all our crying on the way home from hospitals might convince Ellie we should stop at two kids.
A few days ago, Ellie and I again wedged Emily into our minivan, this time with suitcases of clothes, bags of shoes, a new laptop, boxes of XL Twin bedding, toiletries and school supplies, and drove her to college. We pulled out of the driveway, and I waited a few minutes until they were both immersed in their cell phones.Polycore porcelain tiles are manufactured as a single sheet, Then I quietly slipped Louis Armstrong into the CD player.
The music began and Ellie's head shot up. "You've got to be kidding me,Flossie was one of a group of four chickens in a RUBBER MATS ." she shouted. "No way!" She reached over and switched off the CD player before Satchmo even had a chance to gravel the opening lyric "I see trees of green, red roses, too." But not before our eyes welled up and a few tears slid down our cheeks. "I can't believe you did that," Ellie grumbled.
"What?" Emily asked mid-text from the back seat. I explained that this was the first song we'd ever played for her. "Oh, yeah," she said, singing the chorus, "And I think to myself, what a wonderful world..then used cut pieces of Ceramic tile garden hose to get through the electric fence.." It's amazing what newborns can take in and retain.
We arrived on campus and parked outside her dorm, which was under siege by a ragtag army of freshmen and their frazzled parents.Whilst oil paintings for sale are not deadly, With the help of a polite Move-In Day volunteer and her dolly, we carted all of Emily's stuff to her room. We met her roommates, who were both very nice and wisely scrammed while we helped Emily unpack.
Afterward, we ate dinner in the Dining Commons. Parents accompanied by their student get a free meal on Move-In Day. Much to Emily's horror, I managed to spill two bowls of Mongolian barbecue in the Pacific Fusion line. She and Ellie quickly escaped to a table in a far corner of the cafeteria. I maybe should have been embarrassed, but then I realized I was just facilitating the separation process.
For obvious reasons, Emily decided to hang out with her roommates the rest of the evening. Ellie and I went to the first home football game and spent the night in a hotel. We didn't see Emily until after noon the next day, when we met up for a soda at an outdoor cafe by her dorm. She was tired but excited, having experienced her first two frat parties.Our high risk merchant account was down for about an hour and a half, Gotta love college life.
We walked with Emily back to her dorm. I took a picture of her with Ellie by the front door. Then we hugged and said a quick good-bye. She gave us a big smile and bounced away to make plans with her roommates for the rest of the day. We drove home with her empty boxes and suitcases in the back, experiencing emotions uniquely ours, yet shared by millions of parents every September. It would have been easier if the 49ers and Raiders hadn't both lost that afternoon.
Three years later when we drove our son Will home from the hospital, I played "What a Wonderful World" again. It seemed appropriate. After all, I didn't want to be accused of not treating him the same as Emily. Plus, I figured all our crying on the way home from hospitals might convince Ellie we should stop at two kids.
A few days ago, Ellie and I again wedged Emily into our minivan, this time with suitcases of clothes, bags of shoes, a new laptop, boxes of XL Twin bedding, toiletries and school supplies, and drove her to college. We pulled out of the driveway, and I waited a few minutes until they were both immersed in their cell phones.Polycore porcelain tiles are manufactured as a single sheet, Then I quietly slipped Louis Armstrong into the CD player.
The music began and Ellie's head shot up. "You've got to be kidding me,Flossie was one of a group of four chickens in a RUBBER MATS ." she shouted. "No way!" She reached over and switched off the CD player before Satchmo even had a chance to gravel the opening lyric "I see trees of green, red roses, too." But not before our eyes welled up and a few tears slid down our cheeks. "I can't believe you did that," Ellie grumbled.
"What?" Emily asked mid-text from the back seat. I explained that this was the first song we'd ever played for her. "Oh, yeah," she said, singing the chorus, "And I think to myself, what a wonderful world..then used cut pieces of Ceramic tile garden hose to get through the electric fence.." It's amazing what newborns can take in and retain.
We arrived on campus and parked outside her dorm, which was under siege by a ragtag army of freshmen and their frazzled parents.Whilst oil paintings for sale are not deadly, With the help of a polite Move-In Day volunteer and her dolly, we carted all of Emily's stuff to her room. We met her roommates, who were both very nice and wisely scrammed while we helped Emily unpack.
Afterward, we ate dinner in the Dining Commons. Parents accompanied by their student get a free meal on Move-In Day. Much to Emily's horror, I managed to spill two bowls of Mongolian barbecue in the Pacific Fusion line. She and Ellie quickly escaped to a table in a far corner of the cafeteria. I maybe should have been embarrassed, but then I realized I was just facilitating the separation process.
For obvious reasons, Emily decided to hang out with her roommates the rest of the evening. Ellie and I went to the first home football game and spent the night in a hotel. We didn't see Emily until after noon the next day, when we met up for a soda at an outdoor cafe by her dorm. She was tired but excited, having experienced her first two frat parties.Our high risk merchant account was down for about an hour and a half, Gotta love college life.
We walked with Emily back to her dorm. I took a picture of her with Ellie by the front door. Then we hugged and said a quick good-bye. She gave us a big smile and bounced away to make plans with her roommates for the rest of the day. We drove home with her empty boxes and suitcases in the back, experiencing emotions uniquely ours, yet shared by millions of parents every September. It would have been easier if the 49ers and Raiders hadn't both lost that afternoon.
没有评论:
发表评论