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There was There There

As the new banner above may make obvious, my little blog vacation involved some travel. Matt, Simon, and I just returned from six days in the Bay Area, where we visited a few of our favorite places and many of our favorite people.

It was, as ever, simultaneously relaxing and invigorating to dip back into our old lives and friendships after a time. I had last been in the Bay Area in late summer 2009 for business, but the entire family had not traveled to California for just over three years, a delay we weren’t thrilled about but thought necessary for Simon’s sake.

Two years ago he was an inflexible toddler that had trouble with crowds and change. It didn’t seem like the right time. Last year the call was even more difficult. Simon was social, but not 100% potty trained, was still struggling with loud noises, and still wasn’t what I’d call a trooper. We missed our friends, but the time still didn’t seem right. This year we declared Simon totally ready for such a trip, and with one minor exception (that I’ll save for a different post) he was.

Here, in short, is the trip in Simon’s own words:

The general vibe:

“I sure do love all my new friends.”

In the city:

“What was the most fun today, Simon?”

“The cable car!”

“Mommy, I’m cold in San Francisco.” (Welcome to the city in June, kiddo!)

King of the Road:

“Mommy, how do we get to San Francisco?”

“I’m not sure from here, honey. I’ll have to get a map.

“I think we take 13 to 24 to 580 to 80 and then boom! That’s it. You’re there. (He was right.)

“How am I going to take a BART train?” (next trip, honey.)

“How am I going to be on 680?” (possibly never)

On friendship:

“How am I going to see that tall girl (Kalyna) and her matching sisters (twins) again?”

[To Alise] “I won’t see you when I’m in Kentucky, but I’ll miss you. You know how you can come see me in Kentucky? You take two jet airplanes. Have you ever taken two jet airplanes?”

“I love Mr. Shawn’s house. And Mr. Ian’s house. I love being in California; It makes me happy.”

Me, too. Most of all on this trip because it was so clearly a vacation for Simon. He speculated about the speed of the cable car (110!), liked all the “secret lanterns” in the Japanese Tea Garden, and was proud of himself for pulling his own suitcase through the airports. But most of all, like his parents, his biggest thrill was a social one. Simon played super-heroes with Thomas and Theo, ran around shrieking with Kalyna and Alise, and took turns on an indoor slide with Alise and Thaylo. Most hilariously, he and Alise fashioned a game of Animal Hospital from a stuffed animal menagerie, a bed, and a roll of toilet paper. He seemed to form an immediate rapport with each of the kids: exploring his boisterous side with Thomas and Theo, being the big guy to Thaylo (who could hold his own and has a very similar temperament), and enjoying an easy and sweet friendship with Alise.

He genuinely liked them all. And while that may well be because he’s four and disposed to like anyone I call “a new friend”, I prefer to believe that he was naturally attracted to the children of people Matt and I like so much. Either way, we’re not waiting three years to dip back into these waters again.

One Response to “There was There There”

  1. blg says:

    I love how Simon is with directions. Everytime you tell a story about this I laugh out loud and love him to death!

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