Fliers on the Storm

The weather here in the Northeast is so hard to predict.  From day to day, you can never be sure what it'll bring.  Just spin the roulette wheel, and carry an umbrella and sunblock.  What will it be?  Rain?  Snow?  Hail?  In-laws? 

We had an in-law shower Wednesday night.  Jennifer's dad (also named Dave) and his wife Ruth were taking a trip from North Carolina to the Czech paradise known as Prague, with a stop at New York's own paradise, JFK airport.  The plane to Prague left without a problem.  Unfortunately, it departed BEFORE my in-laws arrived at JFK.  A storm had caused them to make an additional stop in Baltimore.  By the time my in-laws landed in New York, their flight was gone, the nearby hotels were booked, and airport's public address system was playing a Barry Manilow marathon.  My in-laws needed to get out of there fast.  They gave us a call to see if they could stay here.  We told them we had a bed for them, but that would mean putting Kyle out in the rain.  Fortunately for the little guy, they were willing to use our sleeper sofa.  They arrived after midnight, and we started getting ready for bed by around 1:30 a.m.

The next morning our son was up at 6 a.m., about an hour earlier than normal.  He must of sensed that we had gone to bed late.  It's long been his goal to make us as tired as absolutely possible.  That way we break easily, and Kyle gets to see more "Thomas the Train" on TV.  This time around, Kyle received an even better treat: Grandpa and Ruthie.  Once he learned they were here, he started bouncing off the walls, which made it all the more difficult to keep him quiet so that our travel-weary guests could sleep.  Eventually our son was let loose, and he was soon spoiled with far more attention than Jennifer and I could give him, as it was way too early to do anything but walk slowly and drool.

Kyle showed Grandpa and Ruthie his new toy box.  He showed them his toys.  He buried Grandpa in books.  He sang songs.  He talked about the numbers on the buildings outside.  He had them read him stories.  He played catch.  He colored with crayons.  He ran around in circles.  He did everything he could to squeeze a week's worth of activities into the few hours he had with Grandpa and Ruthie.  They seemed to love every minute of it, and so did the little guy.  I drank lots of coffee.

It was a busy day, but being a sudden host wasn't bad at all, even though I was so tired I had trouble remembering a) where the best lunch spot is and b) to wear pants to this lunch spot.  In the end, I had a few extra coffee cups to wash, but Dave and Ruth were gracious guests.  Besides, Dave's been through this sort of thing before.  You may remember that he ended up spending a few extra days here because of a surprise blizzard at Christmastime.  I'm starting to think he may be cursed.  Sure, he and Ruth made it to Europe without incident on Thursday, but now there's a volcano in Iceland spewing ash all over the place and disrupting some air travel on the continent... just in time for their return trip.  Hopefully it won't be an issue for them.  No matter what, next time my in-laws fly, even if it's to Boise, I'll make sure we have clean sheets ready.