I'm on Fire!

          

          The red Mini Cooper with the shell pulled up to 50 Black Horse Run for the much-anticipated yearly visit to Asheville.  We saw it go by on Lake Drive and were on the front porch ready to welcome everyone. Jessica unbuckled and lifted Austin out.  Giving him a tiny prompt, he smiled shyly saying “Hi, Grandma,” as if he knew right where he was. He took my hand and we went right into the house. And so our 4th of July visit began.

            Being 450 miles apart and seeing Austin once every 3 months, I always wonder if he’ll remember us. I shouldn’t give that a second thought as each visit, either in Asheville or Washington D.C., Austin greets us as if he just saw us yesterday and I breathe a sigh of joy.  Having a grandson is pure bliss.

            As a Grandma I do a quick check of what has changed since I last saw Austin. This visit he was taller and still slim but with the same sweet demeanor and an entire vocabulary of new words. Austin now talks in complete sentences about everything and adds new words as fast as you teach them to him.  His clear blue eyes draw you in and his perfect blonde curls attract much attention. Engaging him in peek-a-boo, or kicking a ball or splashing in the water, he is such a happy little boy rewarding you with a wide grin or giggles.

            With an ear for spoken language Austin comes out with expressions like “there we go…” or “sorry”…or “alright” – all spoken with perfect intonation he has heard from adults.  I would say to him,  “let’s go outside and play…so lets find your shoes.”  Austin would reply “Oh, here they are!  They’re right here!  And we’d put them on.

            Austin takes a nap and several afternoons I was home resting while he napped and his parents had some time out and about in Asheville.  One afternoon as I was sitting in the big chair in the loft with my eyes closed I heard this little voice “Hi Grandma…”  He was up earlier than expected and ready to go again.  I tried not to groan and of course enticing him back for more sleep was to no avail. Instead we went downstairs and he looked around remarking in a matter of fact way,  “Hey, where did everyone go?”  When I explained no one was home he wasn’t fazed in the least.  We settled down in the living room to put together the 26-piece floor puzzle of butterflies, caterpillars, moths, ladybugs and other insects, all of which he can name and find. 

Then I suggested having a popsicle outdoors.  “I want a red one,” he would tell me.  “But we only have orange ones,” I replied.  Taking it outdoors he would lick it quickly as it shocked his little tongue and share bites with me.  I ended up with more of the popsicle than he did.

 “I wonder if it will rain,” I mused out loud.  Austin’s response was “I don’t think so”.  “Where’s the ball?” I would ask.  With his little hands turned up and shrugging his shoulders he would indicate with clear body language that he didn’t know.  And then we’d go find it.  Austin loves nothing more than to kick a soccer ball, throw a Frisbee, or swing his plastic baseball bat. Hayden pitches to him and even if his bat does not connect with the ball, he knows how to “run the bases” all over the yard just as he’s seen it done by the pros.  His parents take him to Washington Nationals baseball games. Austin has his own tennis racket.  He swings his tennis racket for a forehand or a backhand just as Hayden has taught him never seemingly discouraged if he can’t hit the ball.  He’s got the right moves. 

Basketball is another favorite and he has his own small hoop in his own backyard.  But when he’s near any basketball court he’s ready to go , “be in the zone” and shoot baskets.  Hayden has taught him to shoot, run back, holding up his arms and yelling “I’m on Fire!” 

One afternoon our friend Ayla came over for a visit as we sat outdoors.  She asked Austin if he liked tennis and he promptly answered, “I like Andy, Roger, and Novak”, perfectly naming the top 3 tennis players in the world.  Of course, we all know Hayden is a huge tennis fan and he takes such delight in teaching Austin much about the tennis “greats”.  Ayla looked at him in amazement.

The new scooter we had for Austin was a big success.  Hayden put it together and then we took it out on our quiet, dead end street and Austin hopped on and scooted up and down.  The street is very slightly on an incline and going one way you can coast.  And so I taught Austin to coast and am not sure if he loved doing it as much as he liked testing out that new word…coast!  All week when he’d get on the scooter announcing “I’m going to coast!”  In the rush to leave home his parents forgot his helmet so Jess and I made a trip to Toys R Us where we found the perfect bright blue Dory helmet.

When Austin takes a fall he’ll stop and if it’s not too bad he’ll say “I have a boo boo on my elbow…but I’m OK” and then go on to what he’s playing.  If it’s serious there can be a few tears demanding “Mommy attention” and then life goes on.

Austin’s week long visit to Biltmore Lake this summer was a reminder that not only is he growing up fast, but he’s an unusually verbal two year old that notices everything around him and imitates what he hears and sees.  Having the attention of four adults – his parents and us – for an entire week resulted in many new words and more sentences.  Most of all his visit confirmed for me that he truly knows us as Grandma and Pop Pop…a name he is also calls his other grandfather.