Day 8: Cooperstown NY

When the boys were 4 and 2 we did a big family holiday to Venice and the Veneto with Mike's mum and her family. It was a wonderful trip, but one incident sticks in my craw. We were sat outside an unpretentious cafe for lunch, and William was regaling us with stories of knights and princesses, inspired by the mediaeval towns we'd visited that morning. As the meal drew to a close, a couple left the table next to us, and the woman leant towards us and said, "About your son...". We smiled and laughed, expecting a "Goodness, there's a one", or a "What a charmer" - this after all was Italy, the land where the Boy Child is King, and this woman was American, from the country of hospitality and openness. But no, to my horror she launched into a lecture about how we should control him better; how we'd ruined her lunch; how we were bad parents. We were so shocked all we could do was apologise fulsomely - I've spent the last four years coming up with the answers I wish I'd given.

Today rather put that unpleasant episode to rest. Try as I might, Americans were determined to adore my children. To start with, we went to the Farmer's Museum (another St Fagan's creation - this time small-town America in 1845). The boys couldn't have been more handsomely treated in every building, but there was one exhibit of children's toys - cup-and-ball, hoops, Jacob's ladders, etc. I swear one delightful member of staff spent half an hour with Bill and Chris, going through how to make every letter with a Jacob's Ladder, and coaching them through their first checkers game.

Then this evening we headed back to Nicoletti's. We were late - the Hawkeyes' match had eventually been called at gone 8pm (we English would say bad light stopped play - American's would say, I think, what do you mean, "no floodlights"?). Then there was a wait for a table. I was nervous whether we were being way too optimistic about the boys' staying power. But the table came up, and as we sat, the lady at the table next to us leant over and said exactly the phrase I'd expected three years' ago: "Your boys are just the cutest things I've ever seen". I responded saying I hoped she still felt that way after we'd finished our meal; and we were set. We talked for hours. Chrissy gave up and went to sleep on my lap; William filled the gap (no surprise there). We laughed uproariously; we swapped intimate stories. If anyone was disturbing the restaurant at large, it wasn't William. We eventually left together (carrying Chris - and his dinner), with lighter hearts and with a ghost laid to rest.

Today’s statistics:

• Auditions heard: 13
• Cows milked: 1
• Sheep rounded: 12
• Bridesmaids on crutches: 2
• Innings watched: 13
• Home runs cheered: 1
• Favourite placename: Skinny Atlas, NY (ok, it's spelled Skaneateles, but that only makes me like it more.
  
• Breakfast: Our apartment
• Lunch: picnic at the Farmer's Museum
• Dinner: Nicoletti's, Cooperstown

Today’s Discoveries:

• A Nintendo DS can be dropped from further than you think it can.
• It is possible to get things back from under bleacher seating (see 1).
  
• No ties in baseball...
  
• Cooperstown really is full of good neighbours.