July 4th, 2021
Dear Ethan,
We had quite a whirlwind weekend! On Wednesday, we had surprise family visitors who convinced me to take you to Boston on Thursday. When we got into town, it was cloudy and muggy, and we wandered through the Market to find something to eat (we all ate lobster rolls and clam chowder). We followed up with Boston cream donuts which were like two full-size donuts smushed together and loaded with cream (we all agree the cream layer could have been at least double). You had an M&M cookie which you proclaimed was “your favorite.” After the donuts, we stood outside and watched a street performer juggle knives from a seven-foot unicycle, and a girl wearing VR goggles play covers of popular songs on her violin.
We wandered into Little Italy, which was still and silent and heavy with the memory of rain. It was so lovely, like a secret in the middle of the city. We found a haven called Leonardo’s Peace Garden, which was the front yard of a Catholic Church. Aunt Sarah asked if Mary had a little lamb came from the bible, and Grammy and I laughed hysterically then realized we didn’t know. Across the street from the garden was Giacomo’s, where Giacomino took a picture to commemorate his almost-name twin.
After, we walked all the way to the aquarium, then realized we had to wait another two hours before we could go in. This was a little excruciating, so I finally let you watch videos of ships sinking on YouTube. This little girl kept peeking around me because she wanted to watch too. We were finally, finally allowed to enter the aquarium and you got a t-shirt at the gift shop, and you proceeded to run as fast as you could to the fifth floor. Somewhere along the way you spotted a scuba diver feeding fish and were delighted. I think your favorite exhibit was the lobster nursery, perhaps because we had just eaten one…
After forty-five minutes in the aquarium, you were ready to pass out. Grammy had found a tiny king cake baby sitting on a ledge in front of a bakery, so you were holding it in your pocket, peeking at it every now and then. We made it to the car and you were asleep in five seconds, and we drove back to Westfield. Aunt Sarah made shrimp stir fry for dinner, and you ate approximately three shrimp.
The next day, we got up super early to go to the New Haven IKEA. Here, we found quite a few things that could be useful for our new house, but of course, everything was sold out. So, we sadly wandered into town and ate pizza instead—we got a barbecue brisket, lobster roll, and littleneck clam pizza. It was about a million dollars but we ate it all and were cheered up. Then, I had to have my therapy appointment in the truck, which was a nicer experience than I realized. I love the feeling of a phone call versus a video call—it unblocks me in a good way. It was a great call.
On the way back, I leaned against you in your car seat and we fell asleep all the way back to Westfield, the rain pitter-pattering around us. It was such a soft lullaby. I’m writing this all down because it’s so easy to forget the minutiae of everyday life, and sometimes it’s so sparkly, I want to remember.
love,
mama