Austin was at the door when we arrived in Washington DC on a Friday night( May 17) from Baltimore/Washington DC Airport. For us, the day had started at our Paris/Luxembourg apartment many hours earlier. By the time we got to 15thStreet N.E. we had been on a train to Charles De Gaulle Airport, a plane to Heathrow in London, another plane from London to BWI, and an Uber to the house. For us, it was 3 a.m. Paris time. Exchanging big hugs, I am always relieved to know that Austin is not yet too old for that. He is affectionate with us when we step into his world and he was full of hugs when we appeared. In spite of the long journey I was already looking for changes in him.
Sweet boy...Did I mention he likes sweets?
Like Grandpa...like grandson....
We spent the weekend with Jessica and Austin even though Hayden had to go to Myanmar for work the first morning we were there. Perhaps Austin was reacting to his “single parent” or in some way to his Dad leaving, but I came away remembering that his mantra for this visit was “What are we going to do next?” At aged 5 he doesn’t nap regularly as he used to, which makes for longer days on the weekend to keep him entertained. Good thing we were there to help out.
Saturday morning we watched him play baseball. He is on the Solid State team which Jessica coaches (Solid State is a bookstore on H Street which is a sponsors Little League). We were at a community field in S.E. Capitol Hill and sat in the bleachers as each child went up to bat and was given a generous amount of pitches in hopes for a hit. Austin has had lots of tennis coaching from his Dad and seemed to be the one kid that understood “watch the ball” or “keep your eye on the ball and swing”. He has unusually good eye hand coordination skills and got a hit every time he was up to bat. As an infielder, and growing up with parents who are baseball aficionados, he knew just where to throw the ball when it came his way trying to get an "out".
“What are we going to do next?” prompted a walk down to the Anacosta River in the National Arboretum taking Jeter… followed by lunch at Nando’s on H Street where we hadn’t been in ages. Dog walks with Austin on his scooter pass the time but we also were treated to Austin riding a two-wheeler bike (sort of) on his own. No training wheels but Mommy vigilant and prepared to catch him before he lost his balance. Washington was having a heat wave which drove us indoors again to play games.
Gearing up with pads for a bike ride...
Austin loves to play board games and has moved way ahead from the days when he was content with Chutes and Ladders or Candyland. He explains the rules seriously and luckily has no problem playing for “others” like me when my tiredness began to really hit me. Jessica says his favorite store in Eastern Market is Labrynth, ,a fantastic game store. We were in Eastern Market on Sunday for lunch and Austin insisted he had to walk through Labrynth on the way to and back again from our lunch to the car.
Board games, anyone?
In answer to "what are we going to do next?" Jessica took us all to the Native American Museum on the Mall Sunday morning. Austin loves to go to the kids section on the third floor and play the skateboard game or simply sit down at a table and draw with the markers and paper they have out. This Sunday they had a special Hawaiian festival on the first floor and when we were able to coax Austin away he was drawn to a demonstration of Konane, a Hawaiian game played with rocks and a board with indentations. He watched for awhile and then was invited to play. He caught on very fast in a match with a Hawaiian boy who looked at least twice his age. Austin was enthralled and when the game finished he had won. Austin broke out in a big grin and looking at his Mom said "Did you get a picture of me winning?" Did I mention that Austin has a strong competitive streak?
Simulating skateboarding
Playing Kanane
"Did you get a photo of me winning?"
He also loves sitting with someone to put together or assemble a new toy. We made the mistake, I think, of buying a Star Wars Lego figure at the Paris Airport to take him. It obviously was too complicated to put together by himself. Jessica, with all her Mommy patience skills, sat with him because he wouldn't let it go until the figure was put together. Somehow when it was all done he seemed to lose interest. He likes the challenge of assembling things…perhaps.
Austin reads some now by himself as he demonstrated when Jess brought out some “easy readers”. One of the After-Care teachers at Miner Elementary had been working with him. He did it easily as I listened to him occasionally hesitate and then sound out letters to get the word. His ability to print in lower case letters amazed me. On Sunday afternoon when we were all tired from the heat and keeping Austin entertained, he had a tantrum and was sent to his room. In a short time, he came downstairs holding a sheet of white paper like a peace offering and without saying a word handed it to Jessica. Printed clearly in blue marker it read,
“I love you, Mommy. You are the best.”
All was forgiven and life went on. Where had he learned to write so clearly?
Knowing Austin will be going to Mundo Verde Charter School in late August for Kindergarten and will be immersed in Spanish, I threw out lots of Spanish words to him when I was there. We practised counting up to 100 and made a game of it. I had him repeat words and phrases trying to keep it light and fun. He has a wonderful ear for language and although we are all a bit apprehensive about the big change for him this fall, I think he will grow to love understanding and speaking Spanish.
Austin is still the conversationalist . He’s always been lots of company when you are with him because he has much to say. Sunday evening we had our last hugs and said our “ love yous” , which will last us till early August when Austin comes to visit us at Camp Biltmore Lake as he does every summer. Can’t wait.
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