"Let's go Grandma...Pop Pop..."

Since we’ve been home from taking care of Austin last week I still follow his schedule in my head.   When it’s 7:30 a.m., I think of Austin sitting up in his crib with his mussed up curls and his clear blue eyes eager for another day. I would take him downstairs first thing to make his bowl of oatmeal.  With great concentration he wanted to stir in the milk, take the bowl to his table and come back for the raisins and Mr. Honey Bear.  He took me by surprise the first morning as he was eating his cereal and clearly pointed to the raisin box, “Look Grandma, it’s an A.”

This was the first time we took care of Austin for 3 days while Mom and Dad were traveling for work, and Therese, the nanny, was on vacation. Austin hardly noticed they were gone.  “Watch this, Grandma,” he’d say to me all day long as he dribbled the soccer ball or swung his mini tennis racket, or tried to throw the Frisbee in the park.  “Let’s do bubbles, Pop Pop,” he’d beg Art and we’d go out on the front walkway or the backyard, still muddy from winter, to get out the Bubbles and blow.  He was enthralled with all the different sizes of bubbles…from little to great big and chasing those that would linger on a bush or the sidewalk till they disappeared.

The amount of preparation it took us to get out of the house for our morning outing was an eye opener.  Dressing Austin, making sure we had snacks, water, the right soccer ball for the park, the Frisbee, a jacket or two in case it turned cool or perhaps was warmer than we thought.  Deciding whether to take the big stroller or the smaller umbrella stroller.  Would it rain? We would finally be out the door headed to a playground – Lincoln Park or Sherwood or several others in the area.

Austin is fun because he loves language and conversation.  He absorbs new words by the minute and recalls them.  He is aware of what goes on all around him, watches, and remembers.  As we walked the many blocks each morning to a different playground with Austin in the stroller he’d carry on a nonstop dialogue.  “Daffodils, Grandma…beautiful”  “Blue or yellow flowers…smell the flowers. “ I taught him to say “amazing” and kept repeating that. When we’d come to an intersection he’d already have checked out the lights.  “Green” he would announce.  When I’d ask, “what does that mean?”  He’d reply “Go”.  Or he’d announce “Red - stop”.  And we’d wait at the crossing for the lights to turn.  Growing up in the city there are stoplights on every corner plus so many stimulating things going on outside his front door.  Last week they were replacing sidewalks in the neighborhood and as we rounded the corner he was enthralled by the cement truck and dump truck at work. “See sidewalks,” he’d say.  Fire engines and EMT vans go by hourly and yet he hardly notices.  One afternoon there were workers on his street trimming big trees and he kept asking to go to the window “ to see”.

Our days with Austin were perfect because we stuck to his familiar schedule.  Each morning we’d set off for a different playground and there are many within an 8 to 15-block radius of where he lives.  We took the ball and the Frisbee to the playground and ran Austin around.  He has all the soccer moves from dribbling to kicking at aged 2.  The Frisbee is not so easy but he loves the challenge of trying to get it to go in some direction and never gives up.   He warmed up slowly to going down the slide but gets intimated with too many children around.  I was struck by the huge number of young children growing up in Capitol Hill – a wonderfully multicultural and multi ethnic mix of children.  This is Austin’s world and of course, he stands out with his blonde curls and striking blue eyes.

By noon we’d be back for some lunch and by then Austin would be rubbing his eyes – a sign that he was ready for naptime.  He would go down for a nap with no fuss at all and sleep for 3 hours.  Art and I would grab some lunch and then simply collapse for a long rest after the busy morning.

After naptime we’d get outdoors again.  We went through all the Bubbles… so what to do?  We walked down a block to ride the new H Street trolley, which Austin loves.  Trolleys are brand new, quiet, run every 20 minutes, and at the moment are free of charge.  He sat up on Pop Pop’s lap taking it all in total fascination without his usual chatter.   We got off at the Giant supermarket to buy Bubbles and then got back on the trolley to ride back to 15^th Street, an easy trip.

In the evening, having dinner takes some coaxing, along with negotiating for more time to play.  He’d want to get out the Play Dough or put on the CD to dance to “La Macarena” or kick the soccer ball back and forth. By 7:45 pm, he’d ask to “ go up to see the duckies”.  That meant he was ready for his bath. My first night with him he simply grabbed my hand and said “Let’s go up, Grandma. ”  Finally, when it’s 8:30 the bedtime routine of putting on pyjamas, reading stories, turning out the light, and singing some soft lullabies brings his day to a close.  He goes to sleep easily.

Now that I am home I still hear Austin’s voice in my head and I miss his little hand reaching up to hold mine when walking down the street.  I miss the bedtime routine talking with all the duckies, the dragon, Shamu, the cow, and Ernie who all crowd into the bathtub. Once he’s all clean and fresh from his bath, his damp curls calmed down, he says “Read this one, Grandma” as he hands me a book from his pile of bedtime favorites and crawls up on my lap.  “One Fish, two Fish…”   Then I would give him one last hug as I put him in the crib and turn out the light.  “Sing Twinkle Twinkle…Grandma” he’d ask.  And so I sat in the rocking chair singing softly recalling the familiar words while Austin hummed along.  Then he would get quiet as I struggled to stay awake.  He was asleep. - a perfect ending to a wonderful day.