02 august 2018
We took the Merritt Parkway on our way to Philadelphia yesterday, with its historic bridges and tree-strewn median and tiny service stations where the line for the Subway counter blocked access to the bathrooms. We had trouble fitting my sister's folding wheelchair in the trunk with the rest of our luggage in such a way that the trunk would close, but we eventually managed it. Our child got sick near Vernon, Connecticut, like she did last year, but less so this time. As we waited for check-in in the hotel lobby, someone walked by the window with their hair in neat dreadlocks colored in pastel green, blue, and lavender, with fuzzy purple cat ears in the midst of it. I bumped into this same person later as i carried bedding out of the parking garage; I didn't say anything but I had this feeling of gratitude that people were making the world cooler justby expressing themselves? It's hard to explain. I feel more at home, I guess, in Philadelphia than in Boston.
We went to the hotel pool this evening with my child and she sat on the top step leading in, kicking her feet in the water. I guess it's been kinda magical.