Our trip to Omaha was big in more ways than just the drive. We decided to spend our vacation there for Collin’s sister’s wedding. Our little princess was one of the flower girls in said wedding. Another milestone was also reached on this trip; Collin and his biological father met for the first time in over 30 years. I told you it was an epic trip! Out of the gate I should warn you I totally failed at taking hardly any pictures; sorry, not sorry; I was too involved in being in the moments.
Once we arrived at the rental house and had taken naps (we were quite road weary after all), we made our way to nearest big box store for some things missed in the packing – I am human after all and can miss things plus it was mostly for food stuffs we wanted. It was a stifling in Omaha. Low- to mid-nineties with 1,000,000% humidity; stepping outside was like walking into a steaming shower, and not in a good way. It was like instantly being covered in film. I know many people don’t mind this weather, but I was not a fan. Thank whomever for air conditioning.
During the entirety of the stay we opted to keep both the kids (human and furry) on their normal schedules as possible. Since we were two hours ahead it meant keeping the kiddo up until 9:30 CT to try and keep her 7:30 PT bed time. It also translated to her “sleeping” (== often quietly sitting in her bed with her stuffed animals) until 7:30-8am CT (5:30-6am PT). Another miracle, but we were able to make it happen. We even shifted her nap time the same way. This allowed us to hang out later Thursday (we had my sis in law and her now hubby over for dinner), stay out later at the rehearsal dinner Friday and the wedding reception the next night. It was kind of awesome.
I know someday she will stay up later and I will wax poetic on how amazing it was when she was in bed between 7 and 8 pm every night.
After arriving on Wednesday, we took Thursday to kind of check a couple things out; like the local coffee offering (Scooter’s – not bad, but not Dutch) and the local-ish grocery store Hy-Vee. The biggest thing that always kills us is how much less expensive the hard alcohol is since it is not sold in state run stores. It was very tempting to restock our bar at home while we were in Omaha, but then we remembered we barely drink a beer or glass of wine now and again at this point, let alone hard booze (unless we are out at a bar).
Thursday evening was spent catching up with the happy couple and our nephew over spaghetti (brown rice noodles but still carbs), garlic knots/bread (CARBS) and beverages. It was great to sit around and shoot the breeze about life and the upcoming “big day.” It filled my heart for the wee one to begin meeting more and more of her family (she has met a large part of mine, but not Collin’s). This was her first time meeting her aunt, uncle and cousin. Even the puppy got to meet her four legged cousin, Reggie.
Friday morning we went to the Henry Doorly Zoo (a favorite spot of ours in Omaha; went last time we were out). It was only about 80-85 with 75% humidity…. °_° The hell spawn enjoyed every minute of the animals. We finished it off with ice cream and the Artic Adventure Splash Pad that just opened this year. We had to kind of cut it short since there we had to meet a not so handy handyman at the house at 1pm to look at a couple issues we had reported to the owner (who was on the ball to resolve!). The reason I say the guy was not so handy is because he came in, looked at the issues and then pretty much said, “Yep, these are issues. He’ll need to have someone come out and fix them.”
Was a little frustrated by this attitude, but oh well, didn’t let it wreck the day.
After nap time it was off to the church for the rehearsal. Our little pixie was immediately absorbed by the other two flower girls (I believe they were both around 8 years old and immediately fell in love with her) and we were left to observe. A short time later we were talking with Collin’s sister and her dad entered the church, as he walked closer my sister in law and I both got a little misty eyed and I started doing that not so subtle look behind you look at Collin. As his father got closer it became a more obvious head nod/twitch that screamed “Look the fuck behind you” and he finally asked me, “What??”
It was at this point that his father touched his shoulder and he turned around. We all made our introductions, our little monster became instantly shy like always. Him and Collin went outside to talk a little bit more while the wedding party started to get their marching orders and timing was discussed. I think they could have talked for hours. I hit it off wonderfully with my “new to me mother in law.” We shared some funny jokes at the boys’ expense; mostly about how stubborn they can both be. We continued the conversation at the rehearsal dinner afterwards and agreed to hang out at the farmer’s market the next morning. Not wanting to get a total F for my picture taking skills, here is one of them all together. The familial resemblance is so strong it’s almost scary:
We kind of had a slow start the next morning but we were still able to enjoy an hour or so at the farmer’s market at Omaha’s Old Market (lovely historic part of the city; visit it if you can!). We chatted some more and learned more about his father and his life. The parallels between some of their life experiences are almost hilarious/unbelievable in the similarity. Ruby did amazing with all the people and other dogs. The only experience (that we are now working through with the trainer) that left a bad taste was this cocker spaniel that nipped at her face. No damage was done physically, but she now has a defense mode when she meets other pups. This mode is made up of a really deep rumble in her chest. The trainer we are working with is confident it will pass, but for now we are cautious with meeting other dogs; just brief two-three second encounters.
We then went to run a couple errands only to hear that the truly handy handyman was headed our way. I dropped Collin and the pup off at the rental and the girl and I went off to take care of business (which included a stop at Target and Scooter’s). The main reason her and I continued on with our errands was because the little turd called us out on it. As we had left the farmer’s market we had told her we were headed to the store to get a couple things. She asked again where we were going right before the property owner called to tell us the handy dude was headed over. So when we went to tell her we had to go to the rental house first she got insanely serious and stated, “I asked you twice and you said we were going to the store.”
Who the hell replaced my toddler with a teenager?!?
Later in the day it was off to the chapel to see my sister in law married. The ceremony was perfect, my little flower girl did wonderfully (can’t wait to see the professional pictures, but here’s one of her running around post ceremony):
Can’t say enough how happy we were to be able to be present for this event.
The reception was a blast. The toddler ran herself silly with all the other littles. I am hoping there was a picture captured from the Dollar Dance when either the wee one or Collin danced with the bride. Collin and his father spent more time chatting and learning about each other. Before leaving we invited his father and his wife over to visit Sunday before the last wedding related event (a BBQ at the groom’s mom’s home).
Sunday was bittersweet as I washed our clothes and began packing and cleaning things up. We spent a couple hours visiting, the boys went to get lunch (including our nephew), while us girls stayed home and colored and watched a movie (well part of one). Later it was off to the BBQ where the food was a plenty (Oh my CARBS) and oh so good. When we left it was difficult. Not like it was goodbye forever, but I know Collin and I both would have loved to just spend a month out there getting to know his father and family and everything. It was the same feeling we had when we left the last time.
We parted with promises that we would come back out as well as that they would head west for a visit to Oregon. We stopped off at a Cold Stone Creamery to treat us all before the long drive back the next day. Then it was back to the rental for one last night; I finished cleaning and packed all that I could into the car. We left Omaha the next morning around 6:30.
Our home will always be Oregon, but a big part of our hearts now belong to Nebraska (as much as we hate the weather and topography – soooo flat).
It’s weird mending the bridges to the past; even a little scary at times. No one can ever know the truth beyond their own experiences and there will always be two or more sides to any story and one person’s perception may not be the same as another’s. It can make for a very interesting patchwork of history, but somehow the patches always manage to overlap.
Now that I have got all mushy and emotional over this… Here’s a picture of three of my four loves sitting on the couch (we didn’t bring my fourth love – the cat; that would have been HELL).
Next post should be something like, Dreams About Rock Stars… Seriously weird dreams lately.
No comments:
Post a Comment