Washington

     

Jackson and I spent last week in Washington, D.C.

When the boys were little, I decided that I wanted to take them somewhere special, just the two of us, for their 10th birthdays. As they get older it becomes harder for me to find things to do with them that's of great interest to them, so we make an effort to take a trip or spend time away from the house exploring, which is something we all enjoy.

When they were little it was easier to play on their level. I used to be goalie in Ben's driveway hockey games, but now that he is approaching 5'8", and armed with a wicked shot he can fire into the net from the blue line, I'm likely to be killed, or black and blue at the very least, if I strapped on the goalie pads today.  

     

When Jackson was three or four I would hide little paw-prints all over the house, and spend my mornings pretending I was Steve, from Blue Clues. He insisted I wear the requisite striped shirt (he wore one, too), and sing before I could jump, not walk, through the doorways, but I did it. Today, he's over Blue Clues, and has moved onto other things, like Smallville, but I refuse to wear a letter "S" across my t-shirt and pretend my weakness is kryptonite.

It's much easier to travel.

     

While there, we saw all the monuments you might have expected us to view, and my little food-loving boy and I also managed to make our inaugural trip to Trader Joes, not to mention an outing to Pinkberry. We even stood in line for thirty minutes at Georgetown Cupcake to sample their famous confections, which were worthy of the wait. 

     

We took a paddle boat ride around the tidal basin, and even though the Cherry Blossoms weren't in bloom, we still observed the intoxicatingly beautiful blue skies and scenic views, while pedaling around the little pond. Probably our favourite place was the Air and Space Museum, filled with artifacts from Amelia Earhart, the Wright Brothers, and an Apollo space mission. 

     

Knowing that a visit there is about as galactic as I'm going to get with my boy, we spent a lot of time wandering the exhibitions and taking notes on astronomy, while discussing in great detail the Mars rover and Superman, of course. And while I didn't don a cape or expose any secret powers, I think I was a seen as a little bit of superhero in the eyes of my ten year old.

At least for a few days. 

Comments

[Julie]

LOVED this post. I think I'll take W somewhere special, just me and him, when he's 10! Sniff...

[Jennifer Jo]

I love hearing about parent-child adventures. It sounds like you had a wonderful time.

[wanda]

Looks like you had a wonderful time with your son. I'll be taking my 7 yr old on an overnight Amtrak trip to Seattle this weekend.

[Paula]

I think it is wonderful that you do these special trips with your boys and loved reading how you hid paw prints and played Blues Clues. This was a lovely post about a lovely trip and I'm sure your son will remember it for many, many, years.

[Sick Child Care]

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