– 4:28 pm
Your mother and I are in Rovinj, Croatia, a stone’s throw away from the esteemed Monte Mulini, where we stayed almost exactly two years ago. Indelible memories forged back then resurface as we walk familiar streets. There are worse places to be.
This time we’re staying at The Grand Park Hotel. And the ‘grand’ is there for a reason. The poolside view is nothing short of a painting and we feel the same joie de vivre we felt back then. Amazing then, amazing still. We fly back tonight (Saturday, Sept 2).
I have to pause for a bit to go collect our luggage from reception. We’re expecting a lift to the airport so I’ll pick this up when we get past security.
Riveting as this all is, being away from you the last three days has been unexpectedly difficult. I didn’t think I’d feel the separation anxiety I felt. Your mother too. Bless your grandparents for the regular updates, pictures and videos. If technology is any bright, it shines at times like these.
Your grandparents also think you missed us quite a bit. You kept saying, “Mama, papa” repeatedly. They wouldn’t take you to Alpha Road in case it amplified our absence.
They also report you dealt with the vaccination unexpectedly well. It’s usually down to how good the nurse is. You didn’t cry as much though you were completely out of action later that day – weak, inconsolable and mostly carried for comfort. That’s completely normal though. They advise to allow five or so days of recovery. The days that followed were better. You couldn’t walk as much and fatigued easily. Your grandparents being the darlings that they are, let you play from your high chair posted next to the window where you love to be, fiddling with keys and a telephone (which I saw for the first time in a video of you they sent).
We took you to Wez’s BBQ the weekend leading up to that marking your first close contact exposure to other kids. And man did they come in all shapes, sounds and sizes. There were no tears this time (except when you almost fell from a shove and I caught you mid-fall). As sceptical as always, you went from hand to hand with the same “whatever you want, I don’t have it” expression. It took some settling but it was great to see you mingle. Unfortunately though (and unsurprisingly), you caught a bug and had a runny nose. Great for your immune system but poor timing dealing with that and multiple vaccines. You were on a steady dose of Calpol.
On the upside, good folks Charlie and his girlfriend Victoria gifted you an inflatable car as a happy belated birthday. However, the instability makes you nervous, so in fear of a fall, you now drive it from outside, pushing slamming the buttons on the steering and gesturing to the sounds it makes. It’s not long before it all gets too jarring though, so it’s only a matter of time before it loses air and meets the storage closet.
