Ivan Returns from Florida

Ivan spent the last five days in Orlando with my parents. They left on Saturday morning and returned today. My mother was going to a conference, so my parents decided to take Ivan along, so my dad and Ivan to go to Disneyland, etc.

It was a successful trip. And a big trip. Among other things, it was Ivan's first time on a plane. While in Florida he wouldn't talk to us on the phone, expect for an occasional and coerced "say hi to mama."

So today, when they returned, both Andy and I were in shock: Over these five days that we hadn't seen Ivan, he seems to have grown and matured. "A preschooler left and a kindergardener returned," Andy remarked. Ivan was very happy to see us and be home, but he was very important and serious.

"Yeah, you don't like shoes in the house, mama," he said when he returned and I helped him take off his shoes. "Fl'rida is warm. You don't wear socks," he then explained to me.

Over dinner, for which he had "risotto," not rice and meso, he announced after a quick potty run, ("Quickly, go peepee," I said. This stopped him in his tracks. "Why do I have to go quickly, mama?" "So you don't pee your pants." "Oh.") "There is a problem!," and lifted his eyebrows. "A problem," we asked. "There are monsters in our walls!" "Monsters?!" "There is a lion in that wall there. If we open the wall, water will come out. And there is another monster in that wall, a tiger." Andy and I were amused and laughing. Also, for the first time, he remarked "That's not fair!" over something, but I forget what was at stake.

Finally, when it was time to go to bed ("But I'm not tired, mama), we reverted to our usual routine: jammies, teethbrushing, one and then another book, lights out, hug Medic ("but Medic wants to play"), and "I'm thirsty mama. I want water." Since I was expecting that I was ready with the water. "Thank you," he said off the cuff yet very seriously, when I handed it to him. Although he's polite and uses thank you regularly and appropriately, he had never thanked me for the water. He must have picked it up on the trip. Our little world traveler.