“Oh, mommy, they’re not here!” pops up in a text from
Jessica as we get in our Uber car at BWI Airport and head towards Capitol Hill
in Washington two days before Christmas.
I am excited thinking of Austin eagerly waiting for us!
“Austin is freaking
out, asking every 3 seconds if you are here…” reads another text from Jess. I fire off replies, “Little
traffic…” “Getting close…” “Almost there!” Finally… “just got here!” The front door swings open and
there is Austin in his red and white striped fleece pajamas, curly mop of
blonde hair, and bright blue eyes looking like a little elf surrounded by
Christmas lights.
“We’re here!” I say as
I kneel down for my big Grandma hug.
So reassuring to see how Austin knows us now even though we live 450
miles away. All those trips to DC
recently have paid off and we are definitely part of Austin’s inner family
circle. “Art” as Austin sometimes
calls his grandpa, also gets his big hug.
We have arrived and Christmas weekend has begun.
“Come, look, Grandma”,
Austin says as he reaches for my hand and tugs me over to the brightly lit Christmas
tree, with wrapped presents under it.
“Show Grandma what Titi gave you,” says Hayden. Austin says, “Come, Grandma,” as he walks over to show
me his new plastic grill, a gift from his nanny, Therese. He likes the tongs, a word which he pronounces
clearly, while he pretends to grill a plastic chicken for us .There is much to take in,
before I have even slipped out of my coat. This is how it is when we first arrive in Washington.
“Bedtime, Austy,” Jessica
reminds everyone. “Let’s show
Grandma your “Big Boy” bed. And so
Austin’s little hand securely in mine leads me upstairs where the crib now has
part of rail taken down so that Austin can crawl in and out by himself. I take in the new dinosaur sheets,
pillow, and matching quilt and my impulse is to say “please don’t grow up so
fast”. Instead, I admire the
dinosaurs and make a big deal of the new bed arrangement.
“I’ll read to him,” I say. Austin pulls out a book from the shelf
in his bedroom and climbs into my lap. It’s the Metropolitan Museum of Art ABC
book. We open to A and before I
can begin, he takes off reading the alphabet, looking at the paintings of boats
or cats or dogs and tells me what they are. “Wow,” I think to myself as I turn pages…”he just about knows
all his letters.” Another milestone?
“Time for bed,” Jess calls down the
hall. Austin climbs into bed and I tuck him in with a good night
hug.
At 7 am the next morning I open my eyes
to see a curly head peeking around the door checking if we are still here. Seeing I am awake the door swings open,
Austin walks in, and the chatter begins.
Austin has lots to say and many questions. “Are you going to do your make up, Grandma?” or “What’s this?” he holds up my round hair brushes. “Let’s play hide and seek ,” he
suggests crawling up on the bed before I’ve answered, and burrowing into the
big pillows against the wall. Then
he giggles when I pretend not to find him. I am reminded as always what fun it
is to be around Austin and how he wakens my imagination and sense of fun to
keep pace with his.
On a rainy cold
December 24th, a morning outing is a necessity. Jess puts on Austin’s new shirt with
striped sleeves and a snowman on the front. We get jackets and rain gear and walk
a block to take the X8 bus to the Postal Museum. A real city kid, Austin loves riding the bus, the metro, or
the trolley down H Street. He likes to sit up high on the bus seat and take in
everything around him. He’s a
child that notices everything! While
the Postal Museum may not sound like the ideal place for an almost 3 year old,
it actually is because of the mail truck kids can climb into, the two-seater
airplane hanging from the ceiling, and the interactive computer displays where
you can take your own picture and make an “Austin “stamp. Besides, it’s free and nearly empty on
the day before Christmas!
Our Christmas weekend
is balanced with a morning outing each day. On the 25th we have a frenzy of early morning
gift opening. Austin gets into the
swing of it stopping to check out each new book or toy. But he is lured away by Kinder
chocolate eggs Jess brought from Brussels which he promptly opens inside his new rocket ship tent away
from the eyes of his parents. But
when he emerges he announces, ”I will share,” and hands each of us some tiny
bits of a chocolate egg he has already opened up on his own. He knows that the only way he’ll get
away with eating the forbidden chocolate in the morning is to share it with the
adults.
After a breakfast of
pancakes and maple syrup, we pile into the “red mini car” (Mini Cooper) to head
down to the Washington Mall. We
take a soccer ball for Austin to play with along the way. Then we decide to
visit the Lincoln Memorial seeking solace before the ominous changes in
government coming in 2017.
Standing below Abe in his big chair looking out to the Washington
Monument is reassuring. Today the Lincoln Memorial is packed with mostly
foreign tourists in Washington for the holidays. Austin is entertained sliding down the marble edge of the
steps as he’s seen some other kids do. Jess is right there holding on to him
averting any crisis.
Christmas afternoon
while Austin is taking a long nap I watch Jess admiringly as she prepares fancy
Cornish hens, stuffing, and veggies for our dinner. I try to help out by whipping up my pear flan for dessert
and setting a festive table with English crackers I ordered specially for this
day. Hayden pops the cork on the
Prosecco when Austin is up and we sit down for a festive meal. We each come prepared to tell a 5-minute
story of something about our lives we want to share – a new tradition and
Jessica’s idea. It works well and
we love it.
Christmas weekend with
Austin is about being together and watching him learn what this holiday is all
about. We read “Twas the Night
Before Christmas” and Jess tells him the story of baby Jesus in the Nativity
display of figures she has just brought back from her recent trip to Sri Lanka.
Christmas Eve happens to be the first night of Chanukah. Hayden lights the first candle in the
Menorah we had at home when he was young. With some reminder from Art, Hayden says the Chanukah prayer
while Austin listens and watches.
By Monday Austin has
ridden his new apple green bicycle with the training wheels, he’s played in his
rocket ship tent, and has christened the ferryboat and cars we gave him in the
bathtub. We’ve read all his new
books several times and it looks like “Where Do Diggers Sleep at Night” and the
elaborate pop up book of construction vehicles are clear winners. He has broken in his Santa and Snowman
shirts.
Before Austin goes down for his nap, I explain that we have to go
home in a little while but will be back again to visit. He gives me a hug and kiss and we say
goodbye. I think about his parents
building their own holiday traditions as we did and know we can be a part of
celebrating together as Austin grows up.
When I get home it
takes me awhile to let go of Austin as I carry his voice in my head and the
feel of his little hand in mine. I even look for his head in the doorway when I
wake up in the morning. But I know
he will be there waiting for me when we go back for our next visit.
