With the reflexes of a practiced parent
Among the things that I noticed during a (rare) full family moment: cellphones are as demanding of attention as are small children. And small children require a whole different level of attention.
We’d managed to get the full five into the same place and time. Rare. A restaurant, with the three sons; just like the good old days, except that we weren’t in a place that specialized in generic burgers and tortured fries. And after the shock had faded, I had my attention drawn to a neighbouring table with multiple tiny children. Their vocalizations helped.
Certain things are reflexive to a parent. Even if we don’t interfere, we note and hope. Like when the waitress placed a tall glass of cold water in front of a pixie in pink that came with extensible arms and laser eyes. She (not the waitress) knew exactly what she wanted. To my great relief, the “Papa Bear” intercepted,grabbing his contained water just in time. And then shared. It’s a parent thing.
Each time the kitchen crew passed with plates of very hot food, I hoped that “Papa Bear” was still in game mode.
Of course, the evening (at our table) ended too early, and the mobile majority left us for a night in the city. Public transport a given. Speaking of which, I played with my favourite mapping calculator today. Here: the requisite link. And with some careful routing and math, I’ve decided that I’m putting in ten thousand kilometres a year, what with the to and fro. A trip around the world (in equivalent terms) every four years.
