Care Package for the Grandson

Our grandson is doing an internship this summer in our northern Virginia neighborhood. But he is staying in a basement rowhouse apartment in our - and his - old neighborhood on Capitol Hill. He has to go in to the office on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and works from home the rest of the week. He’s not a metro type guy so he drives his truck in to work. In order to avoid rush hour traffic on the way home - and of course to stop for a visit with us - he has stopped in twice so we can go out for dinner. It gives us an excuse to go out to a restaurant rather than stay home, and a chance to catch up in the world of an almost twenty one year old. The last time we came back home for some nice cream after dinner. This time my husband and I made up a care package filled with every piece of fruit we usually enjoy as well as other chocolate, cookie and candy treats. The package included a pear, apple, nectarine, banana, orange, cherries, grapes, and chunks of watermelon and melon. I put it all in a plastic bag with a glacier ice gel refrigerant (the kind sent to preserve our eyedrop medications in the summer heat) that comes in handy. Our grandson has such a busy schedule it’s so nice that he makes time to see his old grandparents though we always insist we can be his last option if he has better things to do. It’s a great opportunity to talk without his parents around - just to get an even better idea of what he’s all about. He is rarely anywhere near here in the summer months so it’s a nice chance to see him. And it’s nice to know he is staying in a familiar place with his old neighbors and friends. Now I need to think of something for the next time! 

Call From the Grandson

Our grandson is twenty years old. It’s rather hard to believe that he will be a senior in college this year. In the meantime he just finished his junior year and has for the last two summers worked at the Hudson River giving white water tours. He was there for the Memorial Day holiday doing the same thing, but had to cut it short because he starts his internship at a financial organization near us. Whenever he is on the road he usually calls to chat - and that happened yesterday as we were in the elevator heading to our condo. It’s always so nice to hear that he is doing well, is generally upbeat, seems to have everything in hand, and still remembers to call his grandparents. Ironically he will be living in a row house apartment on the lower level that is almost right across the street from his family’s rowhouse and our condo in our old Capitol Hill neighborhood. We are looking forward to seeing him here and there while he is in town. He will also have an opportunity to visit with people he knew when he grew up right down the street from us until he and his family moved to central Virginia. It’s always so good to hear from him and it’s amazing how fast time is flying. My husband used to babysit and pick him up from school. It’s been a wonderful experience watching him grow. He’s just a really nice kid. 

A Dulles Airport Arrival Pick Up

We haven’t been to Dulles Airport since before we moved to northern Virginia five years ago. That means we haven’t been on any international trips either. We did pick up a friend from the Midwest several years back who happened to be in town so we were familiar with the cell phone lot. And, we always used Reagan Airport when we lived on Capitol Hill and are more familiar with that airport. So when our grandson called to say he would be needing a pick up from Dulles after spending two weeks in Ecuador paddling down the Amazon river, we were all too happy to get him. He lives in central Virginia so he needed an alternative to parents or friends. And he left his truck at his girlfriend’s father’s house in Reston - so he just needed to get there as he would then be on his way to New York to see her for the weekend. Luckily the flight from Ecuador was on time and he went through customs in Atlanta. The flight from Atlanta to Virginia was an hour behind - but at least it was just delayed and there were no weather issues. So we headed out for the cell phone lot around 10:15 AM and waited just a few minutes. He was landing just as we arrived. He texted the arrival gate number that he was standing at on the arrival pick up area. It was really very easy and organized. We got from the lot to the terminal in five minutes. It was so good to see him and we drove him to his truck, then we headed for a quick bite in our neighborhood to chat before he went to pick up a bouquet of flowers for his girlfriend at the local shop where he had called in an order earlier, based on our recommendation. It was a different kind of morning for us and it was good to know we can still find our way around. And, who wouldn’t want to see their twenty year old grandson? He will be finishing his third year at UVA starting next week. How the time flies. 

Happy Twentieth Birthday Grandson

It is a couple of days late, but I wanted to remember our grandson’s twentieth birthday. His first home was on Capitol Hill in a beautiful townhouse. You could say that he changed the trajectory of our lives. It was because of him and his family that we decided to move to Capitol Hill when he was three years old. His father - an army heart surgeon - would be deployed three times and we wanted a change of pace from the Midwest anyway. So we would be available when our son was away, but it seemed like a good idea. Never did we think we would end up swapping our 2500 square foot home to a 500 square foot condo just five houses down the street from them. To make things even more interesting, I ended up getting a job at the Library of Congress. So we watched our grandson grow up and it felt good being so close to family - even though we didn’t see them all that often. My husband was the back up baby sitter and he would be on call for whatever our daughter in law needed him for. But then our sim retired from the army and moved the family to central Virginia when our grandson was in middle school. It was never the same after that. In the end our grandson turned out to be a lovely fellow and will be a junior at UVA this year. For the third summer he is hosting white water rapid tours on the Hudson River. So happy birthday dear grandson! 

UVA Architecture

Our grandson attends UVA. He is a sophomore majoring in math and computer science. The school is located an hour from their home in central Virginia and two hours from our house. That makes it very convenient in so many ways. It offers the getaway from the home feeling and is close enough to drive back and forth when needed. We have been planning to take a tour of the campus with him since he started there, but COVID messed up any opportunity. So we waited until last week to finally see the campus. On our way to their home we first stopped off at UVA and parked in front of his house where he lives with seven other people. He loved in the dorm last year. They all belong to the rafting club - he even gives lessons in the pool. His mom joined us there and we set out. Because of the thanksgiving holiday the place was literally deserted. And the remains of the memorials from the school shooting the week before were everywhere. So it was a different sort of tour, but interesting at that time of the day - almost dusk. It’s obvious it was made by Thomas Jefferson because the style is so Monticello. We passed by all of the landmarks and statues of the third President. We walked from one end to the other then went to a really nice restaurant for dinner. Our grandson’s roommate was our waiter. We are hoping to visit again in warmer weather and more normal circumstances. The “academical village” is named on the world heritage list. 

A Very Sad Day at UVA

It’s not the kind of news you want to hear. Early yesterday morning my husband read that there was a mass shooting at UVA. It wasn’t exactly a surprise since these sorts of things have become much too common. But this time it was more personal. My husband immediately texted our daughter in law to see if she could tell us if our grandson was affected in any way. Our grandson is currently a sophomore at UVA. She answered back that he was not near where the incident occurred but that they were all sheltering in place. When I woke up I immediately sent a text to Will telling him that grandma and grandpa hope he is careful and to stay safe. He answered immediately hoping that things would simmer down soon. During the day we heard the details about the incident and were sickened by it all - especially the horrible impact psychologically it has on everyone. Later in the day we texted Will again to let him know we were thinking about him and his friends. I remember on 9/11 I was at work and felt the need to drive back home to be with my husband. Luckily Will had the same opportunity to drive back home to be with his parents. I’m not sure who was happier to be with each other. We were just glad that they could share the distress together. This is one time - among others - that living an hour away from college is a good thing. I just know that this day will have a impression on everyone for the rest of their lives. We share our sincerely condolences with the families of the lost students. 

Grandson at Wild Water Outdoor Center

We got a call from our grandson yesterday. He is really good about staying in touch. He’s been in New York since his first year of college in Virginia ended last month. His summer job is guiding white water rafting tours on the the Hudson River. He did this last summer too. It’s quite interesting because we saw him grow up primarily doing wrestling and baseball. Then all of a sudden he somehow fell in to rafting. He’s had a lot of exposure with high school summer excursions all over the country in the mountains and valleys and everywhere outdoors. The family recently completed their cabin on the James River where there is also opportunity for water sports. He also taught canoeing at the University of Virginia as a paid position, belongs to the club, and has met a lot of people in the process. There is a billboard of him in the pool building on campus. So it was fun to chat with him yesterday or any day. I asked him if he has been in any more high profile photo shoots and he said he is in a just posted video on the Instagram page of Wild Waters Outdoor Center. Since neither my husband nor I were ever in to the outdoors or water we find all of this amazing. This kid is such a nice guy - more important than anything else. So if he decides he doesn’t like his math major, he’ll always have something to fall back on. He said the rafting tours are pretty booked up - and the tips are great. 

Grandson’s Artwork

Last week I was feeling a bit nostalgic. I’m not sure what came over me. I got an email from the Toymaker and it reminded me of days gone by when we used to babysit for our grandson. I would use her PDF templates to make paper crafts. My husband did the bulk of the baby sitting. I got to do crafts after work. So I looked in a box of old stuff and came across three drawings our grandson had made. I don’t really know what any of them were for and had difficulty figuring out what they were. One looks like a card and another looks like a specific art project because a section of it is typed. Another one is just a blob. It’s funny how little kid art all looks the same. I still have a collection of art from my kindergarten days. I’ll need to share these items with our grandson. I usually text him every once in a while with unexpected sorts of things. His reaction is usually very receptive - something we both find quite heartening for a freshman in college. 

The Little Prince Reminder

We had to read The Little Prince in high school French class. My husband loves this book as does our son. The other day I was reminded of it when I got an email from the Toymaker. I never stopped subscribing to her. I used to love getting her emails when our grandson was small because I would make all the paper toys from her PDF patterns. When I came home from work our grandson would be there with my husband who was babysitting. We would always make some crafty things. Four year old kids are just so sweet! So when the fox from The Little Prince said “if you come at four in the afternoon, I’ll begin to be happy by three” - it reminded me of the good ole days. So I texted the note to our grandson who is a freshman in college now! Aside from that I also sent him the page from my children's book “The Four Promises” where there is an illustration of him reading the book. His father wanted him to promise that our grandson would read the book while he was deployed. That was one of the four promises. He wanted the story to be internalized. So it was a nostalgic day to think about the times gone by. Our grandson responded by saying “good memories.”