Today’sblog
Lynn Murphy Mark
Playing Scramble
Yesterday was a perfect travel day. Everything happened on time, it was a smooth flight, the Uber drivers were polite and timely, and our hotel room is just right. After landing we went straight to the house where all the action is. We encountered two little excited boys who hid as we came in the door, then burst out in “Surprise!!!” as we entered.
Alexander was wearing his Iron Man outfit. He had managed to get chocolate all down the sleeve and front of it so Iron Man will be in the washer as soon as Aiexander agrees to take off the duds. At first he was shy and retiring with us. After an hour or so he came to me and said, “I’m not afraid of you anymore.” Turns out he wasn’t sure until he observed us and decided it is OK to hang out with us. That’s a disadvantage of being a far-away grandparent.
Cameron asked to play a game of Scrabble, aka “Scramble”, in his vernacular. He is reading at a higher level than a kindergartner would normally achieve, so he gets the idea of picking letters and making words out of the tiles. He and Jan were a team against both Grandma’s, Nana and Yaya. As we put words on the board, he made up a story, using them to build a little narrative. We played for at least an hour and he was laser focused on the game.
Then followed several hours of non-stop motion. Honestly, it was exhausting watching the two of them jump and spin and make up ninja kicks. There was much adult instruction to “tone it down!” without much success, I might add. As the hours passed a couple of grandparents fell asleep, though I don’t know how with the whirling dervishes around us. I guess at this age we are more like babies, able to sleep through commotion and goings-on around us.
We were invited to a nice dinner. Cameron set the table and made place cards for each person. Momoh made my favorite Nigerian dish, Jollof rice, which is long grain rice cooked in a tomato base with spices. He didn’t add any “meanies”, as he calls the small hot peppers that usually are part of the dish. I missed them, but everyone else was satisfied. I watched Cameron dig into his plate of food, while Alexander took some tiny bites, then left the table.
I know his mother worries about his limited intake of food. He simply doesn’t eat what amounts to a whole meal in one sitting. It’s hard to believe that he is that energetic on as little as he eats, but he manages somehow. He does enjoy sweets, though. If dinner could be a brownie or a slice of cheesecake or a dish of ice cream, he would be perfectly happy.
Jan has not been around many children in her lifetime so she was somewhat taken aback by the noise and the energy. We decided that the presence of four long distance grandparents was pretty exciting for two little guys. They want us to see all of their tricks and games. Plus, the cold weather means they hadn’t had a chance to be outside to discharge some of their electricity. Plus they are boys, close in age to each other. I rest my case.
At one point, Alexander came to me and quietly said, “Yaya I wuv you.” Be still my heart.