Susan Senator

Nat always spots me long before anyone else does. At airports, when they come to pick me up, he catches my eye, smiles, and looks away, just like when he was Baby Delight, way back when. He sees me, and that’s all he needs. Once when we were still living in Arlington, I drove to an appointment in Brookline, and Ned and Baby Nat came into Brookline to meet me there. I remember walking down the street and spotting them at the corner of Beacon and Centre; Nat was riding on Ned’s shoulders. Nat’s face split into a big grin when he saw me walking towards him; his delight was openly apparent. It is one of my favorite Baby Nat memories and it reminds me that we always did have a connection, even though it was not usually as easily felt as it was on that day.

Today, to begin our vacation, we decided to take two cars to the Cape so that we had more room for food; I hate shopping at the Orleans Stop&Shop; the very first day we arrive. This time, I have my kitchen on wheels. My car was full to the brim, but at least we did not need that stupid carrier on top. Ned’s car was full of all of our technology and the swimgear. He put the bikes on my car and then went to get Nat, so I would not see Nat until we got there, and it had been a whole week.

So while Ned picked up Nat from his school, I headed down with Max and Ben. The traffic was horrendous getting out of Boston, of course. Here we had the first sunny day in like 6 weeks, give or take a few anemic sunny days here and there; we had a Friday afternoon; we had the 3d of July; we had a lane drop at Weymouth; and, we had Cape Cod just an hour or so from Boston. A perfect storm of traffic.

It was fun riding with the two of them. Max did not use his cell phone, his iPod Touch, or listen to music the entire time. He sat up front and dozed or talked to me. We talked about Jack Johnson and Tally Hall, his favorite musicians. He made me CDs of their stuff for Mother’s Day, and that’s what we listened to. B, on the other hand, was all grins as he stuck his face out the window into the hot wind caused by the moving car. He was actually giggling.

Ned and I stayed in contact with occasional cell phone calls. It was apparent pretty quickly that Benj was going to need some food; I guess he didn’t like the PBJ I’d made him. How can that B?
Those sandwiches are insanely delicious. Strawberry preserves are rubies from heaven.

I told Ned I was stopping at the totem pole rest area (the one at Plymouth). We pulled in and staggered out of the car (that’s what 45 minutes of a Boston traffic jam will do to you; it is nothing like a strawberry jam). I was so out of it I could barely ask for a nonfat latte. Max got a Big Mac, having never had one before, and B had his usual 6 piece chix Mighty Meal with Ice Age toy that he was bound to hate.

No sign yet of Nat and Ned. Just as I thought that, I was walking past the food counter when I spotted Ned. Right behind him was Nat. Ned did not see me across the distance and the people, but Nat did, right away. And there it was, that same brilliant smile of recognition that made my heart leap. The family was reunited, and our vacation had officially started.