What do you get when you cross a three-year-old, a one-year-old, and six acres of horses and farm equipment? The best holiday you can imagine.
For the past two weeks, my little family has been living it up North Carolina-style. There has been horse-feeding, tractor-riding, and hay-hauling. To you, this might sound like work. But to Adlai, this is comparable to a visit to Disneyland. In fact, I think if you asked the little fella if he’d rather spend the day with Mickey Mouse or his American grandfather, “Pappy,” he’d choose Pappy every time.
In addition to all the farm-related activities, we’ve also spent time on the beach, and quite a lot in the car as well. It is true what they say about America: you can’t walk anywhere.
Even so, the boys have been getting on well. Watching them slot seamlessly into American settings makes me feel proud. It appears their mother’s Americanness might have rubbed off on them more than we originally thought. At one point, we visited a playground where Adlai quickly made some new friends. I couldn’t understand a word they said in their Southern drawls, but he didn’t seem phased.
If there’s anything we’re struggling with, it’s the change in diet. We’ve really gone for it over here: Chick-fil-a, Mexican food, burgers the size of your head. We’re in full holiday mode, but our stomachs haven’t gotten the memo. We may need to revert to diets made up solely of broth and kale when we return to the motherland.
I’m heading back to England this week, and Faith and the boys are spending a few more days out here. I’ll miss the burgers, but I’ll miss my little family more.
