2018
It’s happened to Jeff and me before! We’re going about our everyday lives, filled with restful pauses and quiet evenings, then BAM! Captain America turns our world upside down! Mind you, we anticipate these invasions with great joy, planning ahead the things we will do.
Sometimes Cap morphs into the Hulk, filling our house with roars and grunts, Hulk smashing the furniture and floors. Last summer, he was the Flash, running through the house at top speed, slicing his hands in the air.
This Avenger Invasion is fueled by his father’s intense love for the Marvel characters, particularly, Iron Man. His grandfather, Jeff, joined in the fun by downloading an app for his cell phone, which allows Jarvis, from the Iron Man movies, to inform him when he gets a call.
My husband outfits our Avenger, Aldon, with grandpa and grandson matching outfits that they wear when hitting the bike trails. They go on long rides, last summer accumulating over 200 miles! Together they stop at restaurants along the trail for a cool drink and rest.
Aldon, informed me last fall that he was tired of getting only Avenger toys for Christmas and would like Santa (yes, he still believes) to include a few Star Wars toys. So, we bought him a BB-8 bike helmet, along with Star Wars knee and elbow pads. The pads he no longer wants to wear.
Currently, Aldon sleeps in a Spider-man tent bed when he visits our house, which is during all his school breaks and summer vacation (Aldon lives in Mississippi). I secured pockets that attach to the rail of his bed, so he can stash his flashlight, Minion & Avenger toys and a thermos of water because he gets thirsty at night. For all his tough boy habits, he has a bunny nightlight, because he grew up with it in his Texas room and still finds it comforting. When he wakes up in the morning, he crawls in bed with me to cuddle. I hold him tight, putting up with his “morning breath” because I know these tender, little boy moments are numbered. He’s growing up so fast.
Aldon loves my horses and has been fearless around them from the time he could focus his eyes. He also loves to ride.
Every summer, since he was a little sprout, I take him to Six Flags Over Texas. We eat brisket nachos covered with cheese, cotton candy, and ride our favorite roller coaster, The Texas Giant, over and over. He also loves driving the Antique Cars and prefers that I sit in the back seat.
As we walk through the amusement park fond memories of all the years that Jeff and I bought season tickets for our children come to mind. I know the arrangement of the park well. Not much has changed with the layout since my kids were young. Some of the rides and stores are new and different. It’s such a joy to tell Aldon, “Your dad loved this ride too when he was a little boy.”
Yesterday we worked in the garden. I took him with me to Lowe’s to purchase plants. He loves to dig in the soil. That afternoon we took a break to take the golf cart, Rodeo, to the stables to brush and turn out the horses. While we were brushing them, I was told that my future held a rousing game of Candy Land. He claims that he’ll win, but I replied, “I don’t think so!”
Later this afternoon, I’ll take him to swim at the YMCA while his grandpa plays racquetball with a friend. On our way home will pick up carryout for dinner. In two days, we’ll send him home back to Mississippi. He much prefers taking a plane versus enduring the ten-hour car ride (one way) it takes for me to pick him up in Mississippi.
As soon as our Avenger leaves to go back to Mississippi, our house will settle. But my heart will ache because my love for him is so strong. I’ll busy myself, wiping away the dust, washing floors and fingerprints, scrubbing his bathroom clean and packing up most of his toys. I always leave one or two still out, because it makes me feel close to him.
