Madi About You

Most people have Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny or Halloween Goblins. You know, mythical creatures who briefly enter your life tantalizing with sweets and then leave before you were really sure they were ever there except for the wrappers on the ground. Well Hunter has them AND uncle Dan.

I will never forget when Heather came home from a mass play date for Hunter so excited about the friend SHE had made: Yeah it was a great hike, and Hunter met this little girl who was stomping in the puddles with him, yada yada whatever, and I think they were holding hands, but who cares, I met this woman named Ashley. (Here, re-read the sentence and imagine Heather's bright smile and that little sound-effect you use when things glow.) And it just happened that Ashley came equipped with her children Madi and Mitchell (Meat) and her husband Dan. (Here, re-read the sentence and imagine Heather's bright smile and that little sound-effect you use when things glow.)

And it was lucky for all of us they went hiking that day. Ashley and Heather hit it off so well, it was if they had always been friends. Their chemistry makes sense, they had dud husbands who worked too long and liked sports too much and children who liked to play together. Well until Madi would hug Hunter too long, or Hun'na would take one of her crayons.

I remember the birthday parties the most, but the first time I met Madi at Christmas time where she and Hunter did Winter Wonderland at the newly reopened Northgate Mall was awesome, and the Tahoe trip was great and all the various dinners and beach trips were fun too. Heather really should write this post to do them justice because the other thing I remember most was watching the clinching game of the World Series with Dan (and any excuse to write World Champion San Francisco Giants is appropriate) and the great time we had while he was sharing our house. The opposite feeling was when they delivered the news that they were going to have to move to Spokane.

At Meat's Birthday party just before they left town (in covered wagons in the middle of the night, or so it seemed) there was a pinata. I love pinatas with two and three year-olds. And Dan, who is a trades man set up the most elaborate system of pulleys and levers and ropes for the pinata to swing from that it looked like the Cirque du Soleil was coming to town. I half expected Jack Sparrow to swoop down or something, I mean how about mixing in a tree and some rope?

Anyway, there they were, lined up like little garden gnomes, about seven kids, all ready to have their crack at the floating, stuffed box o goodies. All dressed in their summer outfits, perfectly patient little angels, waiting their turn. Each parent prouder than the other for the perfection of manners each ensuing kid displayed, proving they above all were the best parent. Smiling little, dainty little, perfect little angels, all, ready to whack the head off this thing.

Madi went first, and she took the stick and poked and prodded and jabbed for a bit and all the kids followed in turn, taking gentle polite swings. Hunter was at the back of the line, getting more and more anxious as each kid flailed. And Dan, ever the maestro, was egging the kids on saying, things like, wow no one can do it, it's too hard. Hunter from the back, I can do it. When it was finally his his turn, gently, up he stepped with great reverence and respect for the moment as he slowly approached the big white box dancing in front him. So peaceful, an angel itself as it glided gracefully through the air with dove-like peace. It seemed to even pause for a moment as if being worshiped from the heavens.

WHACK!

The sound of his swing was so ferocious and it rang like the thunder of Thor as each hit tore more paper apart. I could not stop from laughing. WHACK!WHACK! I am probably exaggerating when I say I imagined the scene from The Natural where Roy Hobbes breaks the scoreboard and the shattered lights rained down because I did not really have to imagine it. In my head that is what I was seeing.

And for Hunter's birthday a few months later, when, sadly, Madi and Ashley and Meat had moved away but Dan was still in town, we had a repeat performance. Although this time Heather had emptied Costco, Target and The Party Store of all of their candy and little toys and swollen this pinata so full we needed a dolly to lift it.

Let me tell you though, Dan was so happy to have to hang this thing, he took to it like it was his Moby Dick, and that was probably because it was heavier than Moby Dick. You never know how much candy twelve kids are going to want, so you may as well have little extra... anyway you woulda thought Dan was rigging the Globe Theater for all the rope and wires and twine and pulleys, it was like the Ringling Brothers had exploded on our front yard.

Anyway, it was fun. The only thing I remember more vividly was a dinner were having at our house before they moved. Things were crazy, and loud as they will be in a small house with three little kids and a dog running around. We were sitting down for dinner and Hunter was not yet three, but he knew how to play a crowd. The din and constant hecticness were normal but noticeable. He rushed through his dinner so he could have a dessert, classic move, and sat quietly content for a moment or two. Then in one of those normal lulls at a dinner table like this where everyone pauses to chew at the same moment, he raised his pudding pop and said- man I am eating the crap out of this. Of course we all laughed, so it is no wonder where his manners come from.

Sadly though they did have to move on, but Dan stayed with us long enough to witness the crowning of the World Champion San Francisco Giants (told you) and he was the perfect house guest, aside from some crude fantasy football moves. And Hunter really enjoyed having him over. They would play football together and Dan would ride bikes with him, help Heather around the house and generally treat Hunter like his own son and for that we will always be grateful. He cooked lemon chicken, fixed a bunch of broken stuff and then, poof. Gone.

We will miss the Crowleys but their mark has been indelibly left on our family. From his odd microwave recipes for the Trader Joe's mango desserts, Madi's playing with Hun'nah to Ashley's take some of the pressure off by helping Heather, to generally providing a warm and welcoming kindness to our family, they will be missed. If they were really ever here, that is.