May 27, 2025

Like rain in nature, Rain is both wonderful and terrible in turns. Most of the time she is a comedy gold mine and all about the hugs and kisses. Other times, she gets very, very angry. When she screams, she uses all the power in her lungs. Her body stiffens, her face turns red, she pushes out her lower jaw, and she clenches her fists. During those times, Tim & I comfort ourselves, "Seventeen more years. May 27, 2025, we'll be home free. Just gotta hang tough."

The last night we were in Florida, May 27, 2025, seemed farther away than usual. That night, Tim & I had packed, showered, confirmed our flight schedule, and were ready to go. We figured we'd watch a bit of TV, head to bed, and get up at 4:45 A.M. for our 7:55 A.M. departure. We said goodnight to Grandpa, and relaxed in the guest bedroom.

Now, Grandma/Grandpa live in a gated community of condos. At night, besides the gentle breeze in the palm trees, there is no noise. So, it wasn't long before Tim, Rain, & I fell asleep. I was happy, because we were having a great trip, Rain had behaved marvelously, and we were on our way home.

At 2:00 A.M., things went to pot.

Rain woke up crying. When she does this in the middle of the night at home, we usually cuddle her and that's that. For whatever reason, this was not happening in Florida. Rain quickly went hysterical, and nothing would soothe her. At first we were like, "Aw, sweetie, don't cry! Mommy & Daddy are here; it's gonna be OK ..." When she turned from crying to howling, we said, "That's enough, honey, settle down, please," as we rocked her and walked her around the room. When the howls morphed into outright screams, we freaked.

Grandma goes to bed at 7:00 P.M., and Grandpa falls asleep on a recliner not long after. These good people are not accustomed to hysterical toddlers. WE aren't even used to it, and we've been at it for seventeen months! I was in full panic, but the more we tried to calm Rain down, the more force she put behind her screams. Remember swaying palm trees outside? All I could think was that in very short order the neighbors were going to chop one of them down to use as a battering ram while the rest of the mob waved pink and teal pitchforks (Floridians love color).

We've got to go!" I said, and Tim nodded. We rushed outside (I didn't even bother with shoes) while Rain hollered the whole way. We didn't stay long in front of Grandpa's condo, because the acoustics of the entryway only magnified the screams. We went out the sidewalk. Still too loud. We went past the row of car ports. No good. Tim ended up taking Rain down the street by a pond where only the ducks could bemoan Rain's cries.

I came back inside, exhausted. Istared at the clock, sighed, and packed the only unfinished bag. It was an hour and a half before we had to head to the airport. I finally dozed off.

Tim eventually left the pond (once the ducks began brandishing torches), and by the time he returned to bed, Rain was fast asleep on his shoulder. Grandpa got up a few hours later to make sure we were up, too. Apparently, he hadn't heard anything. We left a few minutes later, with Rain asleep and Grandpa's perfect image of Rain still intact.

Once we pulled out of the parking lot, Rain woke up. She realized she had been moved into her car seat in the middle of the night and was furious. She started to cry, and did so the whole way to the airport.

May 27, 2025 ... is that a Friday? Never too early to plan a celebration ...