A Sight to be Seen
by Laurie McLeod-Combs Recently, my husband and I took our 10-month-old nursling, Evan, to St. Augustine, Fla. for the weekend. My husband's parents went with us. Living in Orlando, Fla. means St. Augustine is a very manageable hour and a half drive away. After arriving in the city in the late morning on a beautiful Saturday, we decided to do some sightseeing. We purchased tickets for one of the touring "trams" offering one-hour tours. After boarding the nearly full three-car tram, seated in the last car, I settled back for what I knew was going to be a very relaxed jaunt about the city. Grandpa was entertaining Evan in the seat behind me, and I devoted my full attention to all of the sights that our well-informed tour guide pointed out. The tour guide, an older man in his sixties, spoke into a hands free microphone that carried well through the tram. About halfway into the tour, I hear Evan making need-mommy -now noises behind me. After a few minutes, the noises escalated in their intensity and I retrieved him. Soon, he was happily nursing away, one hand on my nose, the other trying the grab the hat of the women in front of us. While arranging myself and Evan, I had been too preoccupied to notice the next stop on the tour. I looked up, interested, just in time to see a beautiful statue of a nursing woman in front of a stately, stone Catholic church. The tour guide announced that the church was dedicated to the shrine of the Lady of La Leche. I grinned, elbowed by husband and we both laughed at the appropriateness of the moment. As the tour tram began to move, I looked proudly at the statue, lost in thought. Suddenly, I heard noisy giggling and I turned my attention back to the tram. Imagine my surprise at seeing all the other tourists smiling and nodding at ME - turning around in their seats, even! Slightly panicked, I looked at my husband who was smiling widely. Even Evan seemed surprised. He stopped nursing and looked up at me curiously. As we continued down the street, and the tour guide began pointing out other sights, I asked my husband what happened. He told me that the tour guide had mentioned that he'd noticed they had their own Lady of La Leche on the tour, seated in the last car! Afterwards, as we exited with our then-sleeping baby, several people stopped to compliment me on our well-behaved child and to tell me that they had nursed their children too. I had no idea that I would turn out to be one of the sights to be seen! |
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