(certain photos removed because a page that featured photos of adult cross dressers linked here without my permission, and these were pics of my son when he was only three)

Let’s finish our time with my family.

There’s something about when Ben and his first cousin get together. Before they finish hugging each other hello, things turn competitive and downright combative. Whether over a coveted toy or just personal space, they rarely agree. Typically, by the time we leave for home, they’ve become familiar enough with one another to play at least a few minutes without someone getting upset enough to flail — arms, legs, whatever can move freely at the time. Until then, however, we parents have to be constantly at the ready to prevent injury.

But it sure is fun to watch the joy in between. (0:27 video clip)

The longest stretches of uninterrupted fun came when they were running fult-tilt up and down the hall. It was freezing cold on Easter weekend, so we gave them some slack in that area.

Along with that, however, came the newest development — screaming. Sometimes it also came with one of the aforementioned conflicts. It was the first time that Papa and GG have reacted more strongly to negative behavior than the boys’ parents. Until then, they pretty much took the “now you’re getting yours” approach.

GG rushed over to the boys. “Stop that screaming right now. Screaming means you’re bleeding,” she explained.

“But I wasn’t bleeding,” said LC (or Ben).

“Exactly.”

(0:14 video clip)

(in the background, my mom’s actually telling a funny story, and of course Dad chimes in)

Of course, we explained that bleeding doesn’t always require screaming, and vice-versa, but the point was that such an alarming means of communication is for emergencies, never for fun.

Thursday night, Ben and LC went to sleep just fine while all but GG stayed up until about 2:45 a.m. I winced at visions of Ben waking me at 6:30. Mercifully, he woke briefly at about 5 a.m. or so to get up in the bed with me. He knows concessions are made on trips. Next I heard from him, I extended my arm out and grabbed my Timex off the dresser. My eyes adjusted to the Indiglo backlight enough to make out the time.

9 a.m.

Whoo-hoo! There’s something to be said for blinds that actually keep out the light.

Shortly after, Shannon called to say she was feeling quite a bit better and would ride to Little Rock with her mom and stepfather. Ben and I would get to see her that night instead of not at all.

Ben and GG enjoyed a moment together at breakfast. (0:19 video clip)

We all played inside Friday, except for a chilly foray into the front yard for an early Easter egg hunt. LC announced, “Benjamin, I’m quick. You’re not quick,” and ran from place to place, while Ben kept a steady pace collecting eggs. When they ended up with about the same amount of eggs, it brought to mind the old tortoise and the hare tale.

Ben ran a few times, however, and I still marvel at how steady he held that basket. (1:46 video clip — give this one a moment to load after clicking the play button)

Wisely, Ben’s Aunt A had filled only some of the plastic eggs with candy, the others with small toys. The boys sat at opposite ends of the living room giving each colorful trove a squeeze until it popped open. The resulting pig-out was short-lived and mercifully uneventful.

That night, for our farewell dinner with my family, Ben and I went to a catfish buffet restaurant. I had forgot how much fried food there is in the world, but my taste buds quickly made up for lost time — okra, chicken, shrimp, onion rings, French fries, and also some barbecue pork. Surprisingly, Ben turned down all but one of the fried items for peel-and-eat shrimp. GG and I worked feverishly to peel them faster than Ben ate them. His one weakness was the onion rings. Mine was pretty much everything. I still regret not trying the strawberry cobbler.

The obviously clairvoyant staff had seated us in a room added later, not wide open to the rest of the dining area. This gave the boys some freedom to move, and they played more pleasantly than they had all weekend — just in time for us to say goodbye. At one point, locked in a slowly turning embrace, they chanted, “Go Diego, Go! Go Diego, Go!” at least 10 times.

I bumped into the parents of two of my brother’s closest lifelong friends. One of the dads gestured toward Ben and told me, “That’s you all over again, buddy.”

Apparently, sometimes you can go home.

The Fairy

More details on the last leg of our trip will come later, but I felt I could put this off no longer.

Saturday night, as I sat in Shannon’s cousin J’s living room with various uncles, aunts, and grandparents from J’s and his wife’s family, I heard a voice.

“Hey, Daddy, look at me.”

I turned, but my brain took a moment to render the image that shot down my optical nerve.

There stood my only child, my only son, dressed in a pink fairy costume, complete with pink tutu and wings. The room erupted with laughter as I shook my head. I quickly regained my composure and smiled along with everybody else. Hey, this is the new millennium. A boy can dress like that and be just fine.

Right? Right? RIGHT??!!!

Later, his cousin S donned her new winged costume, and they made quite the fairy pair. I won’t admit in public that Ben coveted her shiny new wand with pink in the star. Wait… crap!

Ben accessorized the pink purse on his own.

That night, when Shannon let Ben pick out one of his cousin S’s books to read, he chose Alice the Fairy, about a girl who decides being a permanent fairy is too much work, so she will be a temporary fairy.

That’s what Ben was. A temporary fairy. Only for a little while. Just passing through. Buh-bye now.

Update: My wife said the above post might have made it seem LC was the main troublemaker when he and Ben had conflicts. I didn’t mean to imply that. I just happened to capture that one head-grabbing incident on tape. I think everybody there (wife was not) will agree that the clip was a good sample of LC’s obsession that weekend. Maybe the sheer size of Ben’s head attracted him like a planet’s gravity. To be fair, however, I will say that Ben did his share of not wanting to share, and as anyone who’s been around little bitty kids knows, that’s one of the biggest challenges parents face.