Yesterday, Ava, Carter and I went on some errands. I did not divulge my agenda, and somehow I managed to get my Easter supplies for them without letting them see any of it. This was accomplished by pushing the shopping cart with one hand, with Carter in front and Ava in the big part, and a shopping basket held behind me, sort of hidden from view. I tossed a few interesting things in the cart, diverted Ava’s attention to things in front of us, and somehow managed to get out of the store with everything I needed, save for actual Easter baskets. So, last night, there I was, wondering how I was going to fabricate a basket. And then I had an Aha! Moment: I took 2 identical planters/pots that were about 6 inches in diameter, strung ribbon through the holes in the bottom, covered them in tissue paper, pink for Ava, blue for Carter (driving home those gender roles!), and I had my baskets. A little yellow Easter grass, some candy and we were in business. I then filled the plastic eggs with jelly beans, “hid” them in the living room, and I was in bed by 10.
But not asleep. At 10 PM, Ava woke up in a delirium that was terrifying. It lasted about 2 hours, and was characterized by sudden crying and wailing and furious kicking. She was livid. And the target appeared to be the blankets, but I got the impression that it might have been her stomach, or some other pain somewhere in her torso or legs. I would try to comfort her and she would push rigidly against me, or arch away from me, and when I tried to ask her what was wrong she would open her eyes, glare at me and say “NOTHING!” She never once seemed to relax or recognize me. I was truly terrified. I thought we were going to end up in the ER. I finally concluded that it was almost a psychotic reaction to the Benadryl I had given her before bed (she was drippy and coughing and sprouting a cold). That is the only thing I can think of. That or the pistachios she ate for dinner. Amazingly, Carter only woke up once.
And at 6 AM, she was UP! Happy Easter!
She plowed through the Easter eggs and her basket, consuming god knows how many jelly beans (with each one, I would cringe wondering if she was going to wig out again, but it did not happen), and Carter stood in awe as he tried to process the fact that we were offering him unlimited sugar for breakfast. We got ready for our day and went to Whiteface for their annual Easter egg hunt. It was odd, because there was snow and the skiing was apparently really great, so we simultaneously got ready for snow sports, but that is life here in the North Country. The egg hunt was great—they had the kids separated by age—7-12 at 11 AM, and under-6 at noon, and they scattered the little kid’s eggs all over the bunny slope (how appropriate). Carter and Ava caught on pretty much right off the bat, and in Ava’s words we got “hundreds.” And they were filled with premium candy—no cheapy stuff that you automatically throw away. We have a stash that should last us a year. The snow also made it extra fun, because the eggs were buried in the snow, some partially and some completely. Ava had a great time digging around for treasure, and could barely be convinced to stop. Then Ava and I rode the gondola up to the top of the mountain while Carter and Peter skied. We were accompanied by 3 Russians, and as they spoke Ava stared intently at them. I was trying not to laugh, but it was so funny watching her try her best to decipher what in the world these people were saying—you could see it in her face—such concern that nothing was sounding familiar to her—no foothold for her to even begin the process of comprehension. Finally they addressed her in English. Later I explained. She knows about different languages in the abstract, but this was the first time it actually was clear to her what it meant.
We left the mountain and took Ava ice-skating, and then piled in the car for the drive home and a frantic effort to get dinner on the table (bratwurst) and the kids washed and jammies on all before 7. I chose not to give Ava Benadryl.