We spent Thanksgiving and the month of December in New Jersey and coastal North Carolina.
Now that Em’s work is remote as well, it became easy to take a long trip to spend some time with family and also work from their towns. Em’s brother’s baby was born while we were in the same state, and we got to meet him when he was two weeks old. Thanksgiving was smaller and simpler this year, and Wigilia / Christmas was as well, but we wanted to see some family in person in 2020.
Logistics worked out nicely. We all got tested for COVID before we left and quarantined from the time we got tested until we hit the road. Turns out our neighbor’s daughter and her partner were looking for a place to stay around the same time frame we were going to be away from home, so it lined up well for them to house-sit for us. Myron helped us with some final house preparation, such as packing leaf bags, before we left.
While Em finished preparing the house, I tried to let Myron release some energy by playing outside, but all he wanted to do was get into the packed car and play with the hazard lights and some of the cargo in the back seat.
Our first stop was New Jersey for a week around Thanksgiving. There were many animals to explore at Grammy Kristin’s house and the surrounding area.
We also went to a veterinary hospital that had a giant field full of emus, goats, sheep, chickens, cows, and pigs. There were a couple of piles of donated old pumpkins that visitors could smash and throw over the fence to feed the animals. Some showed mild interest, but most seemed a little tired of pumpkins at the moment.
The goats had a deluxe playground.
Myron made almost daily use of this human playground at the elementary school right behind Grammy Kristin’s house. We had a team helping him for a bit, but eventually he figured out how to crawl up the stairs, sit and swing his legs in front of him, and scoot down the little slide.
My sister, Kira is working hard at Disney World, so we got to see her by video chat.
My brother, Matt had the idea to go on a long-ish bike ride, so Em and Grammy Kristin graciously watched Myron all day while we rode across the Ben Franklin bridge to Philly, visited our other brother, Noo Noo and his partner, Jamie, and went briefly into the area surrounding Wissahickon Creek. Matt discovered this place while going on aimless walks around North Philly. I was surprised to see some pretty serious mountain biking there – I had no idea Philadelphia contained such natural treasures.
We stopped and had some falafel outside in downtown Philly, and I saw this mural.
Some other shots taken by Matt while we were in New Jersey:
Our next stop was Beaufort, NC. We rented a house beside Em’s parents’ place from the neighbors. We were able to quarantine here for eleven days if needed, and it’s also serving as a nice place to work while Grandma Nancy (or Ne Ne, as Myron calls her) and Dziadziu (Polish for grandpa – and pronounced ja-ju) spend some quality time with Myron ;). After our stay in the vacation house, we moved into Ne Ne and Dziadziu’s place for Christmas time.
We drove in the evening in order to try to drive mostly through Myron’s usual sleep time. So we arrived around 1 am. Myron woke up midway through the final stretch, and he was a bit thrown off by the new environment, so he went to sleep around 3:15. At the end of the next day, he had the worst meltdown we have ever experienced, which Em tells me is not too bad in the grand scheme of things. It was about 40 minutes but felt like at least two hours of near-constant wailing. We tried comforting him in every possible way, and nothing worked. He said “apple”, which, naturally, he usually says when he wants to eat apples or apple sauce. However, on this occasion, the first few times we tried to feed him, he would start to use his utensils and then flail, sending the food all around before he tried to put any in his mouth. So we tried putting him straight to bed. He didn’t quite fall asleep. Eventually when offered food a third or fourth time, he ate and then he settled down.
After getting over that, he has adjusted quite naturally.
It’s hard to beat the views here. At sunset, this is what I see from where I set up my work table. Em has a similarly spectacular view of the water.
Here’s the view from the end of that dock pictured above. Note the propeller plane in the sky – there’s a tiny airfield for private planes right near here.
Here’s our walk to Ne Ne and Dziadziu’s house.
Most of the time when we try to read, Myron insists that mama reads to him, even if I try to read instead in order to relieve her. He will pick up the book out of my hands and hand it to Em and then put his fingers in his mouth and look at her expectantly. Sometimes he will hand me the book, but this is rare. Also, sometimes (even more rarely) Myron will read books back to us. He grabs the book and flips through it and says things. It’s mostly gibberish, but there are also some words he remembers mixed in.
I brought Max (my folding bike), and Ne Ne borrowed a bike trailer, so Myron and I can go on some short rides up and down the residential road leading to the house. At the end of that road, it’s a major country thoroughfare with no shoulder or sidewalk, so I don’t venture out there with Myron quite yet.
One of the highlights so far was walking around downtown Beaufort – there’s a Santa’s village setup with animatronic animals that sing Christmas tunes and a bunch of other decorations. Myron stared at the animals for a solid five minutes or so, and then the crowd behind him eventually got him to dance and clap his hands.
On December 10th, Rosser Brooks Ustach officially made us a Ciocci (Polish for Aunt), Uncle and Cousin for the first time. About 10 days later, Rosser and his new parents made a trip down to spend Christmas with us. It was the best present ever.
Our Christmas celebration was smaller than usual, but none the less special to be able to spend time with our family. Myron was very happy to spend time with a real “baby.” And enjoyed having more family to play with and “help.”
Living away from our extended family always makes seeing them a special occasion, but this year in particular has been so very special. We feel incredibly fortunate and privileged to be able to take as much time as we did to travel and take advantage of remote work, to be able to isolate if needed and be able to spend this time with our family. We didn’t get to see all the family we would have liked to have seen on this trip, and traveling during COVID is plenty anxiety producing. But it was worth the trip to see those who we could see, to meet the newest Ustach, and get to see Myron build relationships with his grandparents and Aunts, Uncles and Cioci.
We returned to Rhode Island at the end of December, in time to ring in the New Year in our home. After all getting tested again and quarantining for 14 days, Myron is headed back to daycare where he will have so much to tell his friends and teachers.
