Horton Hears A Hoosier

Wednesday, 8/27/08

This morning, we woke up early with building excitement. In just a few hours, we would be in Indianapolis with Melody’s sister, Heather, her husband Josh, and their 4 kids. We were eager to get packed and on the road to maximize our time with everyone. We aimed to be there a little before 2:30 pm so that Aunt Melody and Uncle Dan could surprise the 2 older boys, Isaac and Elijah, by picking them up at school. When we were about an hour away, Melody called just to make sure what time school let out. Heather said that she had just gotten home with the boys. Immediately, we realized that we had not accounted for the time zone change, and we had been running an hour behind all along. Oh, man! However, Heather had not told the kids exactly what time we were coming, so they were surprised when they opened the door and saw us. They were very excited, giving hugs, each wanting to be picked up, and sharing favorite songs, toys, and games.

As Micah continued to nap, Melody helped Heather with dinner while Uncle Dan took Isaac, Elijah and Ashlynn out to play in the backyard. When Melody came out to play, she found that Dan was being held prisoner by 2 Roman centurions (the boys). He was handcuffed to a lawn chair, but would run for it occasionally and ultimately be chased, beaten, and handcuffed again. As his wife, by default, Melody was found guilty and handcuffed as well. After a delicious dinner, Josh took us out with the kids to hunt for stickers. Returning home successful, we helped the kids to bed, and the adults sat up for a few more hours of conversation and laughter.

After a big breakfast on Thursday, the kids put their stickers on the Egg and we all went out to take the boys to school. We walked, hand in hand, up to the front and waited until the doors were opened, the classes were called, and the kids all started to file through the doors. Once inside, we walked the boys to class and met their teachers. The school reminded Melody of her beloved Cub Run. How strange and yet exciting to be on this side of the school day-- dropping kids off and saying goodbye instead of being the teacher that greets parents and incoming students. It is a different season of life.





We said our goodbyes, and Josh headed off to work. The rest of us headed to Starbucks where Melody and Heather could chat and laugh (and cry) over good coffee while Dan steadily worked on updating the blog over the free WiFi. Ashlynn and Micah were easily entertained, and the cause of many customer smiles. Alas, it was time for the Egg to roll on. We never like to say goodbye, but we always look forward to the next visit.