American Families and Swedish Furniture

Though I have yet to experience the majority of San Francisco neighborhoods, those I have visited seem to be rather segregated.  Some are predominantly Chinese, others white, black, or Hispanic.  In each of these there's always a mix of races and ethnicities, but, so too, always a preponderance of one group that, to varying degrees, stamps the neighborhood with a particular identity.  On Sunday, however, I found a place, a relatively small patch of land, that truly is the Bay Area's melting pot.  More on that at the end of the post because I really should begin at the beginning, and that's in Palo Alto. 

Late Thursday night Sumie's brother and his family flew in from Tokyo to begin a new chapter in their lives here in the Bay Area.  Sumie's brother will be getting his LLM at Stanford while his wife and two very cute kids improve their English skills and enjoy the states for a couple years.  Sumie and I gave them a day or so to settle into the student housing and then went for a visit this Saturday.  What a difference the last few months have made.  Previously, seeing Shu and his family required a 13 hour flight from New York to Tokyo.  Now, it's down to a 45 minute drive.  It really is a luxury having family nearby.  Even if you're the one doing the helping.  There's something about being able to "be there" for family that is very reassuring. 

Our visit was short, but  great fun.  The student housing is phenomenal, with three cozy bedrooms and a wonderful little park for the two kids.  I think Mimi's going to enjoy her visits out to Stanford.  And she's quite happy to have two new playmates close by. 

Sunday was filled with even more family.  This time we headed north on 80 for Sacramento and my Grandmother's house.  This trip was definitely going to be a test of Mimi's stamina.  Would she be able to handle two hours in the car each way, a host of unfamiliar faces, and a carpeted living room?  We weren't sure. 

At my Grandmother's we were met by aunts, uncles and cousins.  Gina, my cousin closest to my own age, brought her two boys, Ethan and Noah, who, though older than Mimi, were wonderful playmates.  Mimi, of course, started off as her bossy self.  Her first act was to impatiently wrench the shape sorter box from the mild and considerate hands of Noah.  What a gentleman.  He didn't put up a fuss at all.  Mimi, that's how you should behave.  Yes, I know the box is yellow and filled with lots of colorful plastic shapes, but you should show a little restraint.  It's just not lady-like to be so demanding.

Mimi was better outside.  Her walking skills have blossomed beyond all expectation and she was navigating concrete and grass with equal agility. 

She even worked a new favorite toy, a rubber ball, into her walking routine.  After a few attempts, she was able to go from sitting to sprinting with ball in hand.  As you have probably guessed, she kept a death grip on this ball making few efforts to share.  Occasionally she'd bounce it over to someone, but if it wasn't returned immediately...  well, it's rather frightening what a determined 15 month old child can do.

Our visit was quite idyllic, the entire family sitting out in the back yard, playing together, and chatting over what's been happening since we last met.  I had forgotten just how great a place a backyard can be when it's filled with the right people. 

Mimi observed some of the more vigorous play from the sidelines. 

Though she is now an accomplished walker, Mimi still uses a full range of strategies for getting around.  If she's holding something, she'll often "scooch," which is her unique butt-scooting technique of locomotion.  If she trips while walking, or really wants to move quickly, she'll crawl.  As such, and we should've realized this before we left home, there was little hope that her white pants would last through the day.  They served courageously and will be put to rest with full honors. 

And yes, I do think it's rather ironic that a pair of pants so filthy, soiled so far beyond repair, proudly proclaim, "I Love Mommy!" 

With a quick change of pants Mimi was able to close out the visit by reading with Grandma.  This may very well have been the highlight of the day for both of them. 

Soon it was 3pm and Mimi hadn't even so much as rubbed her eyes.  Sumie and I were amazed but, not wanting to press our luck, we packed up and headed for home.  Mimi was asleep by the time we turned onto the freeway. 

Mimi's nap, however, was cut to a scant 40 minutes because by the time we got to Davis, our first Alma Mater, I insisted on getting a burrito from Dos Coyotes.  The car stopped and Mimi started. 

For the remainder of the trip Mimi remained awake.  She'd had a very full day and so it was with great trepidation that we decided to enter the Ikea in Emeryville, just across the Bay Bridge from San Francisco. 

This Ikea was just like every other I've been to: huge, bewildering, and filled with items I kind of want, but don't really need.  What distinguished this one from the others is that its aisles were filled with persons of every race and ethnicity imaginable, and in perfect balance.  It was remarkable.  When choosing a place to live everyone seems to self-segregate, but when it comes to buying furniture, we're all Swedish.  I still can't get my mind around it, but I like it. 

We didn't come out with any furniture (I'm getting pickier in my old age), but we did fill up the car with pans, picture frames, and two huge (and badly needed) rugs. 

And how did Mimi do?  She was a champ.  Not a squeal, not a whimper, not a whine.  She'd been up for 12 hours by the time we hit Ikea with only 45 minutes of nap.  We were absolutely astounded.  Our amazement continued as Mimi, now back at home, flung her new wooden push-cars here and there stopping only to take the occasional hit of "carpet vapor" off the new rugs to keep her going.  By 9:30, Sumie and I were virtually passed out on the living room floor (we can do this now that we finally have a rug again!) and Mimi was still tearing about the place.  What an amazing baby.  Thankfully, she agreed to go to bed at 10:00 and slept soundly through the entire night. 

All told it was a great weekend.  And a busy one.  So, after reading all this, I hope you now understand why this post is a day late.  Quite simply, my baby just wore me out!