The Never Normal

We have been blessed in Albany, NY.  Sandy left us pretty much alone.  But oh my God they were right about the enormity (enormity doesn’t mean what I thought it meant) vast extent of the damage.  Too bad the two billion dollars Obama and Romney spent campaigning wasn’t around to help all the people left in the dark and the cold.  Destruction, trees, debris everywhere.  Generators with no gas to run them.  And then they almost held a marathon on top of it all.

Yesterday mom and I drove to see Boo.  We stopped at the Mobil in Rhinebeck and were shocked to see these signs on every gas pump; yellow tape was wrapped around the tanks at other stations.

Rhinebeck, NY

On the way back from our visit we passed convoys of utility trucks driving south.  I imagine they’re reaching out to cities farther and father away for help.

The visit with Boo was a good one — nowadays he walks in precise circles.  This video shows him on a low bridge over a creek running slow with his beloved water.  It looks a little circus trick-y but trust me when I tell you Boo has superpower skills at staying on the safe side; it has always been this way.

He had all this favorite things – bath and lunch, grandma and hugs.

His beloved lip balm, and bleu cheese

He had a particularly joyous time on his swing:

I love when he is this happy.  He asked for “mama push?!” and I pushed as hard as I could.  He swung so high I knew he felt like he was flying.  “Jonah, flying so high!” I shouted to him.   “Flying so high!” he shouted back at me over and over, giggling and shrieking.  The above picture was one of about 45 I took of empty sky and half-a-leg.  Digital cameras rock.

I hope they took pictures of him in the little prisoner costume I bought – they say he laughed and shouted and actually said “trick or treat.”  I wish I could have seen it – but I don’t really fit into the context of his school experiences – as soon as I arrive, he wants to go with me in the car.  Same with his dad, of course.  I wish I had a way to spy on him in the house or in his classrooms.  Two way mirrors, maybe.  I don’t know what he’s like when he’s in his own environment, with his peeps.

We visited the Hudson River by the train tracks and watched the wavy water, choppy and grey.  The wind whipped and we were all chilled.

My mom waited in the warm car – she is frail and getting too old to be climbing stairs to stand in the cold.  At the top of the steps of the walking bridge the train goes under,  I put Jonah inside my outer coat and breathed on his ears.  He wouldn’t wear a hat.  I did get a pretty cool picture of Boo with his daddy:

waiting with daddy for the train. It didn’t come.