Travis got married in January on the west coast. His family threw an east coast reception for him this weekend.
Of course, Shane and I attended!
The reception wasn't until the afternoon, so I'd hoped to connect with some other people. Nothing panned out and John was even working during the reception. Bummer! That meant a quieter morning of chores before we left (I'm sure Carrie really appreciated it!).
Shane and I started up north listening to Space Case by Stuart Gibbs. We arrived a little before the party, so I had Shane sign us in.
ADHD moment: There were fire trucks active across the street. We'd passed a station on the way in. I was really curious, but eventually party people came! Priorities!
Travis and his wife, Anne, arrived with Travis' younger boys, Brayden and Noah. Ryan wasn't there.
I pushed Shane to greet the kids. The boys all acted like they didn't quite remember each other. I hadn't realized it'd been so long since they had played! (Our summer 2019 meetup hadn't worked out.)
Once Noah and Shane started talking video games they bonded again. I pushed Shane to include the young cousin in glasses (like Cole's!) and he at least greeted him, too.
It was a Mexican food themed reception. I approved! Shane really wanted to try a La Croix strawberry pineapple flavored water thing while I grabbed a water bottle.
Can you guess who finished my water bottle and who got stuck with the can?
I was glad Shane came with me. Frankly, I felt alone. None of our old crew made it but me. John was working, Bill was in NJ, Dan in Vegas, Matt has a new son, and I don't know if Travis kept up with Landstreet, Cooley, or Chris and his brother. I knew some of Travis' extended family in passing, but the brother I knew the most, Ron, wasn't there yet and without assigned seating it looked like everyone parked with their families.
Travis had a lot of people he needed to talk to, so I focused on helping the boys connect. Once Shane got some food in him, I suggested inviting kids to the playground. He balked at first, but it seemed like Travis' mother heard me and liked the idea.
The three older boys hit the playground. Two younger boys followed soon after.
There was roaring, play fighting, and Shane turned into a zombie. Some of the play fighting had me a little on edge, but it soon became clear they were all having fun and no one was using excessive force.
Shane managed to scare the liver out of me and the other dad keeping an eye on things. He climbed up on the roof of the play structure. I called for him to get down, because I didn't want him setting a bad example for the other kids. He was taking his time and only half-obeying me, so I started a real slow count (I didn't want to rush-rush him just in case).
Shane slipped.
He was sitting on his butt, slid off the green roof, and it looked like he launched himself into a swan dive. His leg hit the yellow pole and I think an arm did as well, but he fell all the way to the mulch.
For a split second I was in disbelief. The other dad ran through the gate while jumped the fence. Shane got up by the time I was halfway there and I had him sit on a swing while I checked him out. He'd have a nice bruise on his leg, but there didn't seem to be an emergency.
I probably either had a few hairs turn gray or fall completely out. Does my hairline look further back?
Shane was sufficiently recovered to stand in line for cake. He was running around like nothing had happened soon enough while I had a mild tension headache.
I praised Shane for having the wits to fall forward instead of backward. He was able to use his limbs on the way down and landed on hands and knees. I told him he was a great climber, but this was a lesson that even great climbers need to be careful! The risk is partly what makes it fun, but it's not fun to get hurt so do it right!
Shane wasn't the only kid to eat cake. There was a lot of running and screaming going on down the church hallway. Lots. A parent came by and told the kids to stay out of any rooms and then disappeared back into the reception.
The dark hallway was plenty of fun. Shane was a zombie again. He's got a pretty convincing zombie walk for a kid who's never seen a zombie movie!
I try to be a laissez faire parent while paying attention in these situations. I would stand just around the corner so I could hear, but be out of sight. Then I'd walk around every now and then to get eyes on things. I want Shane to be able to function without a shadow and I wasn't too worried since there was one older teen playing with all the kids. It turned out she was just a really tall 12 year old!
Eventually, some of the mothers started to wander out and check on things. They went into the mix to moderate instead of hanging back like I had done. None of them knew me, so I'm not even sure they realized I'd kept at least somewhat of an eye on things.
We'd been there for nearly three hours and the reception was winding down when Travis came out to play with the kids some. He joked and poked while the kids laughed. Ron came up next and showed Shane a "magic trick" (Snap with the right hand while your left hand puts the quarter away...Presto!).
We left after hanging around about 3.5 hours. Travis and Shane bowed to each other and both made some karate sound effects before we left. "He's funny!" Shane said.
We took 95 home instead of the usual route. We made it home in time for horse chores and bed! (I think Carrie put Shane to bed and only I did horse chores, though!).
Congratulation, Travis and Anne! May your marriage be a blessing to each other, your kin, and all who meet you.
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