10.8.17 - Julie's Sacramento visit

Julie and I don't get to see each other in person very often. Not only do we live in different states, but we both have children, limiting our travel schedules more than those of our other siblings. I see her perhaps two or (if we're lucky) three times a year. We also don't talk as often as I talk with at least Neil and Ellen, mostly because (I think) Julie just isn't online as much. That's the venue where I talk most with the other siblings.

So since she was within driving distance of us (since she and her kids came out for Fleet Week), the day after the Fleet Week party Julie rented a car and brought Zoey and Malcolm with her to visit Clara, Jane, and me (Jack had to study. Nursing school, psh.) As a side note it's a little surreal that any of the siblings is now making enough money that renting a car for a day is a casual affair. I'm glad we are starting to collectively eek into that life phase.

Anyway, they got here at like 11 a.m. or something, and Julie very thoughtfully asked if she should eat the lunch she packed (pizza = gluten) outside before coming in. I told her if she just ate it over the sink it's fine; I mostly just don't want crumbs in the carpet, but sweeping is easy. Clara had recently gone down for a nap but Jane was wide awake, and we all hung out in the living room area. Zoey and Malcolm were very happy to explore all the kids books and toys unfamiliar to them, and Julie was happy to be able to let her guard down a bit since were in a kid-friendly environment (meaning both that it's kid safe and that it has a lot for kids to do so she doesn't have to keep them distracted).

Julie and the kiddos a couple days prior, about to explore SF.

Both kiddos were very sweet with Jane, but Malcolm in particular seemed interested. Mom (JaMa) thinks it's because Jane makes him feel like a big guy. He kept offering her different objects and she'd bobble her head and stare at him curiously or even try to grab the objects. It was very sweet. Eventually she was ready for a nap in her swing, and he kept gently putting objects on top of her there too, even as she slept, ha.

Waiting to see Jane's reaction to the monkey.

Once Clara woke up she joined us in the living room. She didn't take long to warm to everyone. (I like to think it helps that she's seen them all many times over in her Youtube playlist of family members.) It was funny to me that Clara located and was immediately drawn to the few kids books Julie had brought: the only foreign toys in the room. At some point we all migrated into the nursery where there was even more to explore, and the kids played with the expandable tunnel for a while.

Reading everyone "Little Red Hen" in the nursery.

Julie and I of course visited throughout the whole thing, but for me the most enjoyable part was when we put on some of Clara's videos for everyone to watch, and while they were absorbed and Jane was sleeping, Julie and I were able to sit at the dining room table uninterrupted and sip Merlot and have more in depth conversations. That was so nice. I know a lot of people would prefer to plan outings or events when they get to spend time with loved ones they don't see often, but for me it's pretty hard to beat getting to have uninterrupted, engaging conversations (with wine). As is typical with Julie and me, we mostly talked about kids and husbands, and a bit about careers. But it's great to have a sibling I can talk to about those things who is in a similar life phase. (I also talk to my other siblings about those things and enjoy those talks, but it's still a difference in kind to talk to Julie about it, particularly about the kids.)

The kids watch Super Simple Songs while Julie and I visit.

They headed out in the early evening since they still had the ~2 hour drive to the bay area and then a flight the next day. I'm so glad Julie took the time to come visit and that we got to spend the whole day together.