Sin City Adventure

This purpose for this particular adventure is a Holy Communion. Girls look like little brides. Pure smiles. The solemnity that comes from someone experiencing her first grown up religious event. Life’s lessons haven’t clouded their devotion or respect for the occasion.

First we have to get there. Our first Auntie/Niece journey just the two of us. Nora and I are flying to Sin City – Las Vegas. Can there actually be something pure in this city legend for greed, sex, gambling, alcohol and all the other vices of the world. Yet this is where we head for this solemn event. My sister- in-law drops off my niece. She is handing over her precious cargo to someone she has a love/hate relationship with. And, her precious cargo is going to the before mentioned city of sin. The conflict is evident in her face, her demeanor and the promptness of dropping Nora off at the air terminal. Never underestimate the power of a smile and persistence. It has been promised Nora and I we are going to Las Vegas together. Tickets in hand we wave goodbye to mom and head into our adventure.

We are seated in the plane waiting for takeoff. Excited talking about what lays ahead for us. I ask her what she is going to wear. Nora tells me ‘Well I have these tights that my mom said I have to wear. But I’m not going to. I hate wearing them." I’m sure she has been able to make clothing choices in the past. However this is a special event with her making exclusive choices. She’s already made one and has yet to hit the air.

After a short and uneventful flight, we land in Las Vegas. My suitcase of choice has no rollers and I am struggling with this beast. Haven’t left the airport and I break a nail. So much for the perfect manicure. I spy a carrier for my suitcase and make a quick purchase and assume this will solve managing the beast. So now I have a beast on wheels. Not necessarily easier. This struggle elicits giggles. So now we have giggles, a rolling beast, a broken fingernail, and two females – neither more skilled than the other.

We are oblivious to any onlookers. The clumsiness we share has been established in other situations.

It is this sight my sister sees coming across the terminal. Does she help? It would be like trying to get your hands around a falling cat. Or does she let us struggle? Best bet just join the giggling and become part of the rolling mess.

Sisters and nieces are a combustible combination. Take the best parts of each female to create the super female. Shopping mode kicks in. We are off to the mall. Important need is fingernail glue. Underlying need – there must be a sale that is pleading to us. We have just what you need and at the perfect price. So of course we succumb to this calling. Do we find deals? Absolutely...I know I need this white sleeveless sweater. It is quite different from the other six or seven that I have in my closet. Nora needs to have the purple sweater that will compliment the jeans she packed secretly in her suitcase. Another opportunity to make her own fashion decisions. My sister and her daughter find similar deals. How fabulous! We’ve been in Sin City for two hours. The retail bond has surrounded us. We are ready for the weekend.

We have to make a stop at the pharmacy. Nora and I are passengers on this trip. We need nothing. Does need to be the deciding factor in making a purchase? Sometimes yes when it is shampoo or toothpaste. What happens when the need is a ball? You know the kind in those huge bins. Bright neon pinks, yellows, multi colored. The kind that bounce very high. Have the potential to damage on their own accord. Did need play a part in this purchase? The smile on my niece’s face made the purchase essential.

Here we are fashionably dressed for the Holy Communion. A bright red ball fits in perfectly. This is a moment when it is way more fun to be an auntie than a Mom.

We attend the solemn occasion. Nora had hers the year before. She is able to celebrate by receiving the sacrament. The ceremony is different than the traditional ceremony she has experienced. The subtle differences denote the uniqueness to celebrating an event within the confines of the same religions yet preferences of the parish. Perhaps the first opportunity Nora has had to see a familiar event presented differently. Regardless, the opportunity to celebrate this event is wonderful.

We return to my sister’s to have the traditional brunch celebration. Not quite as lavish as others but relaxed allowing the girls to revert into the girls they are. While the dress up is nice, they are only eight. Plenty of time for all the frills. Just be little girls. The ball is bouncing around in the yard. What is it about a bouncing ball that will elicit such shrieks of delight or horror? We had delight going in our favor.

The much-anticipated event must come to an end. It is time for us to head to the airport, return to our respective homes and live life, as we know it. We promise this will be the first of many more to come.

While we are leaving the ball comes up. What are we going to do with it? Nora clearly wants to take the ball home. Are there any rules about taking a ball on an airplane? None that I know of. Have I ever seen one on an airplane? I don’t know that I ever paid that much attention. The smile wins out. We are taking it with us.

We are dropped off at the terminal. The rolling beast is back with us. Now we add to the combination a bouncing ball. Partner this with a tendency toward clumsiness. Could be a messy combination. Neither of us allow these challenges to tarnish the glow of the experience or actually see a problem with any of this.

The beast presents the first challenge as we board the airplane. It is quite large now. Has taken on a life of its own and simply refuses to move down the aisle. Somehow it and another passenger’s feet become tangled. Did the feet jump out or did the beast reach out? Nevertheless, I, the beast and the passenger’s feet are a tangled mess holding up oncoming passengers. Nora is in front of me. She has the ball in her hands. She looks at me with the "what do I do Lis" look knowing she can do little to help me. Giggles ensue which only makes the surrounding passengers angry. Fortunately the stewardess comes to the rescue. She views the dilemma and somehow untangles the beast and the passenger all while moving me down the aisle. I can collect my suitcase from her at the end of the flight.

At last we are settled into our seats. Perhaps embarrassment should have taken over. There is this common bond we have that says, "these kinds of things happen to me all the time". The shared knowledge dismisses any unpleasant thoughts and we focus on the delights of the trip.

Another quick fight home. Now we are faced with getting off the airplane with the beast and the ball. The descent from the airplane requires us to navigate down a flight of stairs onto the tarmac. As if we didn’t already have enough challenges facing us. Going down twenty steep stairs. We opt to wait for the rest of the passengers to disembark before we attempt this feat. We truly do know our limitations. We know that laughter is going to enter into this already complicated equation. Thankfully it will be just the two us trying to manage this. First challenge is to retrieve my suitcase from the stewardess. Nora needs to wrestle with her suitcase and the ball. One of these would be a challenge – two, well… Nora loses hold of the ball and it begins to bounce and roll down the aisle of the airplane. I am trying to drag an uncooperative suitcase thru the aisle to reach the back of the plane. The bouncing ball is headed my way but on its own mission. Wrestling a ball and a rolling suitcase is a tangled mess. Laughter strews all over the mess. We can’t get our arms around any of this. We do need to get off the airplane. Divine intervention stepped in. Somehow I got control of the ball and my suitcase. I don’t know who was more surprised – Nora or me. The clumsy could overcome. Next is the metal set of stairs? We focus all our energy on getting down the stairs. I’m committed to holding onto this ball. We didn’t go this far for it so fall out of my arms and bounce happily down the tarmac. We'd never be able to get it. The smile would fade. The giggles would still be there but this was a mission.

We got down the stairs and into the terminal. We made it. We overcame our obstacle. Ball still in hand we work out way toward the exit to the car waiting for us. My sister-in-law has come to pick us up. We are still basking in the afterglow of our accomplishment. We are reliving each bounce, oops and we did it. She is far more practical then I. Perhaps because she has on the Mom face today. We are in our own circle of re-imaging the last ten minutes. All the way home we are reliving our adventure. Making mistakes and having oops enforced the bond already created it.

I am dropped off at my house. I wave goodbye to that precious cargo. How lucky I am to have a niece! That ball - it lasted longer than any ball I knew. Our determination must have worn off on it.