Early yesterday morning we headed to Mt. Vernon, Illinois for a couple of meals with my family. Family gatherings like this are few and far between, so for many who came, it was the first time they got to meet my daughter.
Actually, for almost everybody it was the first chance to get to see her, and for all of them it was the first chance to get to hold her. The last time my sister and dad got to see her was the day she was born and nobody got to hold her or touch her. Not even us.
So yesterday was a good experience for us, probably more so than for anybody else.
The plan was to meet at McDonald's for lunch around noon, eat and talk for a little while, then go waste some time until we met up with my dad at Chili's for dinner. But, as everything often goes with my family, plans get thrown out the window the second we make them (The very first, original plan was to have everybody meet at Applebee's for lunch - this lasted about 3 days before being changed).
We ended up spending a lot of time at McDonald's, so much so we only had time to feed Evelyn her dinner before crossing the street and going to Chili's. We had hoped that after lunch we could go check out a movie or a mall - both of which seemed less appealing upon further investigation, once we got to Mt. Vernon.
Anyway, more to the point. We got to see my Grandma Williams, who obviously fell in love with Evelyn the second she laid eyes on her. My aunts, Leota and Sherry. Leota and I talked while Sherry took pictures. Grandma had a great time, as she always does when being around her grandchildren.
My youngest sister, Avery, came afterwards with her daughter, Katie. Katie seemed to be a little shy at first, but warmed up to her cousin after a couple of hours. Avery got to hold her youngest niece and we sit and talked for about three hours before she had to go to work.
My Grandma and Grandpa Withrow came after Avery and for a moment there I thought she was going to strangle Evie. I don't think I've seen anybody hold a baby so tight and so close. See, my grandma loves babies, so she clung to Evelyn like velcro. Grandpa got to hold her, too, and the first time I tried to take a picture, I noticed Evelyn was "flipping off" the camera. This wouldn't do, so I told my grandfather why I was taking a second picture, only to see, for the first time in my life, him raise his middle finger to the sky. I guess he just didn't want Evelyn to feel left out in the picture.
I wish my camera trigger was faster to have this on film...
Then we went and fed Evelyn in a parking lot because when Jen had tried breastfeeding in the McDonald's, some very impolite people - not affiliated with my family, might I add - could not stop staring in our direction. When I would catch their glance with a "What do you think you're looking at" look their french fries would become the most interesting thing in the world.
Stupids.
So we went to dinner at Chili's. Grandma and Grandpa Withrow came along, my aunt Leota had to get to work so my Grandma Williams and aunt Sherry headed back to Fairfield (or F-town, as the kids say).
Now, I have to talk for a second about my dad. Apparently, without seeing him but hearing me talk about him has lead my friend James to believe he looks like Bruce Willis in "Die Hard." He does not, in fact, look anything like Bruce Willis in any movie he's ever done, whatsoever.
My dad is an electrician, and in all truth, probably the best Wayne County, Illinois has. No... no probably. He is the best in the county, and maybe the best in the southern half of the state. That's not just me talking, I've heard people talk about his work as though admiring an undiscovered painting of Michaelangelo or da Vinci. I've been on jobs with him that took some men days to complete, and we finished within a couple of hours because of his understanding of the wiring process.
I don't take this moment to advertise his talents for no reason. I say this because my dad just got off work and looked like it. Now, he's an electrician, remember? Not a plumber, but sometimes their work clothes tend to look about the same. My dad showed up wearing a t-shirt that, I have no doubt, started out that morning as being white, but now was a khaki color that matched his brown pair of Dickie's pants.
And, as usual, my dad unashamedly walks into Chili's and asks for a seat.
It was good to see my dad.
We got sat down and ordered our drinks and food, and Keshia (my oldest, younger sister) and her husband, Michael showed up with my youngest niece, Kassidy. To see them sit beside each other, you'd think Kassidy and Evie had known each other for years. Kassidy just saw her and smiled... and then head butted her. Evie just looked around like, "Did you see that crap?" But didn't cry and a good time was had by all.
Then the meal started and poor Evelyn got passed around like a Frisbee on a college yard.
Afterwards we spent some time at the local mall with Keshia and Mike, and then took the long trip home. But of course, there were plenty of pictures taken and when all was said and done, Evelyn slept the whole way home and well into the night.
Overall, it was a good trip.
