The ride to Berlin goes smoothly. I'm thankful for the seat
reservations we were required to make because the train
is very full. Our uncle picks us up. Although my 6 year old has not
seen him since they visited three years ago,
she is swept up by his twinking smile and his generous hug. We eat, we
walk to the playground. My 13 year old son
shows off on his skateboard and my daughter misses her scooter
"Roller" which we have left at the grandparents house.
We settle into our comfortable beds. the kids sing me a naughty song
they've composed. At midnight, I hear my my
daughter crying and moaning. "Are you sick?" I ask. She vomits
everywhere. I drag her into the bathroom, mercifully
close by, a trail of vomit behind us. She deposits the rest of stomach
into the sink and the rest of her bowels in
the toilet. She shivers and I wash her. I drag the soiled bedsheets
into the tub, run water and shampoo over the
mess. The sour smell everywhere threatens my own gut. I pull on her
pajamas, fix her a bed. I wash the floor and the carpet as best I can.
I fall into bed. thirty minutes later she's away again. we make it to
the bathroom, now she really must be empty. I
wash her and put her back to bed. I'm well and fully wired now. I
listen to my Ipod and wait for sleep.
The next day, she seems fine but I insist that she eats just a very
little. The kids play cards, build puzzles and
fiddle on the computer. Our aunt has a little project for the
teenagers, a bit of german to english translation for
a photo tour of berlin for my mother. Mom had joined us for a tour of
the city early in our trip, and our aunt
thinks she'll enjoy having a photo disk with explanation. It is good
for the children to have a common goal.
We spend a lazy day together. We get to know the two cousins, ( he is
12 and she is 15) and their mom, a lovely
French women. The cousins have been on vacation with their
grandparents (our aunt and uncle). She has come to meet us,
to shop in Berlin, and to bring the children home. They and we share a
space together between here and there. we are content.
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