Finding our Rhythm

Finding our Rhythm

A recent study discovered that a mother need only look at her baby affectionately for their heartbeats to synchronize.

We arrived in Savannah Monday evening after two days in the car.  Ben is a seasoned car-traveler, so I was not worried about him.   I was hopeful that Evan would do well since the car lulls him to sleep even on shorter rides.  Still, I was afraid that we would reach the point of revolt somewhere in the nearly 20 hour journey.  I pictured myself at a Pilot gas station in the middle of North Carolina looking like a kidnapper as I forced Evan to get back in the vehicle.   I fervently hoped it would not come to that.  

 Evan fared remarkably well throughout the journey.  I was amazed. And grateful.  I kept wondering what was going through his mind. I tried to prepare him by showing him photos of our house and signing that we were going on a long drive to get there.  He nodded, but who knows how much he understood?  We left Nanei’s house at 6:30 am. And drove past sunset to reach Emporia, VA where I had booked a hotel for one night.  Evan had been accepting and cooperative through the whole day’s drive.  I was impressed.  As the sun went down, though, I looked back at him. Evan pointed out the window at the descending darkness and made a gesture and facial expression that conveyed the sentiment, “WHAT THE HECK??!!” 

 Luckily, we were just a few minutes from our hotel.  We stayed at a nice Country Inn and Suites in Emporia for the night.  The next morning, we all (including our fish) got back in the car and headed toward Savannah.   Ben and I have made a tradition out of stopping at South of the Border every trip.  We love the stupid bill boards that announce the “miles to go” and cheer when we see the gigantic, tacky Pedro Monument/observation tower looming on the horizon.   For those who are uninitiated, South of the Border :

“began as a 600 square foot stand selling beer to thirsty patrons from dry counties north of the border in North Carolina and has developed into a 300 acre complex with such diverse features as a motel and campground, six restaurants, a theme park, mini-golf, fireworks store, gas stations and more than a dozen gift shops with everything from Mexican jumping beans to antiques. In the beginning Mr. Alan Schafer worked the stand by himself and now SOTB is run by the third generation of the Schafer family and hundreds of employees, making it the biggest employer in Dillon County, S.C.”

( www.thesouthoftheborder.com)

I am fascinated by this place.  Alan Schafer was born to a Jewish family at the start of WWI.  He developed this totally contrived, deliberately tacky, Mexican-themed $40 million travel-stop in the middle of no-where South Carolina, and then used his political muscle to get I-95 routed right past it.  Gotta love it. 

I allowed Ben and Evan to pick one piece-of-junk toy from one of the largest souvenir shops, and then we had some ice cream.  I also had to take pictures of the boys in front of one of the awful cement figures that liberally dot the grounds. Ben chose –of course- the dinosaur.

Then, it was time to get back on the road.  We approached Savannah in the early evening and you won’t believe this – but up until then, the boys did not have one single fight.  I guess the road was getting to Evan, because he chose our last few miles to make some fake karate chops at Ben.  Though the swipes never landed, Ben whined as if they did:

“MOOOM, Evan almost banged me and I don’t want to go to the Emergency Room and end up DEAD!”
 I assured Ben he was being dramatic, stifling my laughter, and we finally arrived home. 

Our upstairs neighbor and good friend Anita was there to greet us.  I wondered what Evan would think of his new home.  I know it seems odd, considering where he spent the last few years, but I was a little nervous that I would see some disappointment.  Over the past month, Evan has demonstrated a strong appreciation for the finer things in life – like the Novatel Hotel in Hong Kong – and my house is more of the two-star genre of abode.  I held my breath, and completely aware of the irony, thought: “Don’t judge me!”  LOL. 
I needn’t have worried.  Evan barged in, ready to explore, and didn’t pause to give me a disapproving look as he passed through the kitchen in need of a new floor. 

 He quickly found his new room, shared with Ben, and examined everything.  Evan found a bucket of coins that Ben has been saving.  He poured it out on the carpet and squealed with delight as he picked up handfuls and let it run back through his fingers.  The Emperor is rich…J

Since our arrival, we have been running around non-stop.  The boys are now registered at the same school, and the YMCA for a week of camp while I go to pre-planning at my school next week.  Evan had his first pediatrician appointment and got 4 shots and several vials of blood drawn for testing.  We had one failed appointment at an ENT. They turned us away because the insurance was in the process of updating their records and Evan wasn’t covered yet.  Though they knew he would be retroactively covered to July 3^rd, they still refused.  At the time, it really upset me, but since then we chose another ENT doctor, so all is good.  Evan had a preliminary hearing test -and failed - no surprise there -and he is scheduled for more definitive testing in November.  Additionally, I have had to unpack a summer’s worth of travel, fight back the jungle that is my yard, order school uniforms, food shop for an empty house, do laundry, cook/clean, and start to plan my classroom theme.  This weekend we will go shopping for school supplies for the boys. 

Around my manic drive to get us all on track for the approaching school year, Ben and Evan have been building great Lego creations and riding up and down the hallway on the red scooter.  Evan has calmed down A LOT.  He is still the Evanator, but he is beginning to flow with our calmer, quieter rhythm.  I no longer fear that if I leave the room, Evan will rearrange the furniture or smother Ben with a pillow.   In fact, I was able to go outside and do a couple of hours of yard work while the boys watched cartoons and played.  I checked in on them, of course.  Each time, Ben said, “Evan is being good, Mommy.”  I asked Ben recently how he liked his new brother.  Ben answered, “He is still annoying.” I asked, (kidding), “Do you want me to send him back?”  Ben said, “No, Mommy, because he is my only brother and I love him with all my heart.”