Great Barrington Visit

After spending some time with Shannon, I double back to see Meg and Aaron and their kids Stella, 8, Miles, 6, and Vivian and Sylvia, twins who are almost 4. I will be with them for a little over three days.

As I pull up to the house, I am greeted with a giant WELCOME sign hanging on the porch. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy! As I pull up the drive, the kids are hiding, blowing bubbles for my car to roll through, and as I reach the back of the house where the cars are all parked, a large rectangle drawn with the words "Cydney's Spot" tells me right where my VW belongs. It was a great welcome. Meg tells me later about how they were so excited that they made her scamper up the driveway on foot for a trial run of my welcome. It was perfectly executed!  The kids come running, and the twins especially, now four, seems unglued at the new company.

"Cydney's SPOT" In Boston this parking spot would cost $40 a day. Here, mine's personalized and I just have to pay with hugs! What a bargain! 

I brought a personalized game of Memory for the kids. Everyone wanted the Harlow card!

Takin on Stella in a game of Memory

I step out of the car to discover that both twins have bangs. Bangs were the signifier to distinguish Sylvia, who wore bangs,  from Deedee/Vivian who did not. It turns out Miles was playing salon with them. Was this a new hobby or a one-time thing?" I ask him. He blushes and turns away as he murmurs "A one time thing". He gave his own bangs a trim as well, his golden locks taking on a slightly Amish feel.
It's not long though before I can see the difference in the twins' bangs though, and differentiating is no trouble.

Their Bopbop (Meg's dad) hangs out with them for a bit while Meg and I take a walk in to town to run a few errands and catch up a bit. While we're out we stop at the library where Meg picks up a graphic novel version of A Midsummer Night's Dream for Stella, who proceeds to read it in a day, and then use her knowledge the next day to direct herself and her siblings in a ten minute rendition of the play, which I recorded because it was so awesome. I would have paid money to hear Sylvia deliver the line "Stop, you foul beast! You will never get this child!"
The whole production was pretty much the best thing ever.

Checking out Umpachine Falls, which typically can't be climbed because there is so much water. With the lack of water recently, that was different this time.

Sylvia takes on Umpachine.

Girls night out for dinner at Cantina. Great Farm to table food and even better company

Time at the lake. My first time in a bathing suit in I don;t know how long! This is Vivian.

Vivian was so curious about my insulin pump. After we played in the lake together, she sat on the blanket with me and asked questions. The next day they all watched in fascination as I switched my pump cannula site.

Vivian Investigates My Pump from C.M. Scott on Vimeo.

Stella sets up a spa in the upstairs bathroom

At dinner, we laugh until our sides split, going around the table doing impressions of each other. Vivian wants a turn and let's us know by waving her hands in the air "You guys! You guys! I have an oppression! I have an oppression!"

One evening at dinner, Meg (who I suppose saw her daughter showing signs of needing to be excused) looked at Sylvia across the table and said "You know, Sylvia, if you have to go potty, all you have to do is asked to be excused."

At which point Sylvia threw her arms out to her sides, and sang, randomly, in reply, "Every day is awesommmmmmme!!!"

We go around the table talking about dreams we've been having. Meg gets creative and talks about dreams which bare a suspiciously close resemblance to a fairy tale which we are all familiar with. Aaron picks up this idea when it's his turn, and talks about how he dreamt he was a piglet, "The runt of the litter! And I lived in a house of straw! And Sylvia was a pig who lived in a house made of wood! And Vivian was another pig who lived in a house made of brick..."

Sylvia catches on, now aware of her fate as the pig living in a wooden house, and exclaims in a panic "No! I'm in the house made of bricks!"

I love this one in black and white especially. 

Miles takes on Mama in a game of BattleSip right before I leave

As I pack up my car on Thursday morning to head back to real life which consists of mostly grown ups (snore!), I am bombarded with hugs and I promise them it's just "See you later!" and not goodbye. Meg asks the kids if they want to do The Baden Run and so, as I pull out of the driveway, the entire family, save Aaron who's working (poor guy's hardly ever in my photos), chase the car down the drive, and then follow along the sidewalk, waving frantically, as I head down the street and over the hill. 

They sure know how to do a send off!