Thursday, May 09, 2013

"A very good place to do mathematics"




I'm sitting on the terrace, sharing the table with two mathematicians as they discuss numbers and letters that I can't even hope to grasp. They're also discussing these things in Spanish, which has a tendency to flit in and out of my understanding in the first place.
Our first outdoor swim in Seattle!

We've arrived safely, soundly, and happily at Brian's aunt & uncle's home in Cuernavaca. We spent two nights in Seattle, catching our breath and being thoroughly spoiled by Brian's other aunt, uncle and cousins. Frankly, I've been quite worried about how we were going to travel with Otis - not so much the 'getting somewhere' of it all, but rather the details. Checking in, shlepping bags, carseat, hats that are too big for the baggage. And not least of all, how to make sure Otis sleeps on the airplane, on our laps. Typically, he sleeps in his bed/travel bassinet and occasionally the stroller. He hasn't slept ON one of us since he was an infant.

Our flight was 2 hours delayed, so everything was rearranged to make connections work. I have to say, the folks at United were awesome. I asked if we would be given a prize for being at the checkin booth a million hours early (since we arrived for our original checkin time)...I suggested maybe a free drink for mom & dad? And the agent upgraded us to the economy plus seats. Woot! This is the first time we've ever been upgraded for anything. On our honeymoon I tried and tried to no avail. 'Course, the seats didn't come with the kind of free drink I was thinking of, but I'm pretty sure we got an extra 3 inches of legroom each. Amazing what air travel has become, that we celebrate seating that is simply adequate for someone 6 feet tall (...not me. Brian). Not complaining! It was great!

But here it is, the big reveal: we traveled for 15 hours and Otis didn't cry once. He slept on our laps, he handled the change-over in Houston, he even slept again on the bus ride from Mexico City to Cuernavaca at 9pm Victoria time - as far as he knows, 9pm doesn't exist except in his bed. What a love! This is clearly the right time to be traveling with him.

Airplane ride #1
So back to the terrace. It's perfect. The air is breezy and warm, Alberto, Brian's uncle, introduced me to the mango tree overhead, the lime, guava, orange, kumquat, pepper plants, banana trees and his pride and joy, the 500 yr old Indian Laurel tree. And as he says, it's a very good place to do mathematics.

The hammock awaits. Until next time...

1 comment:

Gud One said...

Wow, that is amazing sleep performance. Go Otis!

Cheers - Lorne