Early Friday morning, Erin and Amelia got on a flight to spend the weekend with our friend Kalllin in Seattle. They started the traditino of a girls’ weekend getaway last summer when the three of them went to New York City. One of the big draws to New York for Amelia was the fact that one of her favorite shows, Hey Jesse!, takes place there.
So when discussion of a city to visit this summer came up, she turned to another of her favorite shows, iCarly, which takes place in Seattle. I guess at least she likes shows that take place in fun places to visit!
With the ladies off on their adventure, Henry and I get to spend a guys’ weekend together. First of all, I think it’s really important for parents to make the effort to spend time individually with their children, and this is something Erin and I try to do on regular basis. Not always as elaborate as a trip, of course, but even each of us taking one of the kids to lunch and spending that one-on-one time helps give them individual attention that all kids need.
This is particularly important for families with children with disabilities, who often by their nature require a little more attention at times. We don’t want Amelia to ever feel like her needs are any less important than her brother’s, so we make sure to always communicate with her and make sure she gets that individual time to shine. This weekend she’ll be soaking up the sights in a city even her old man hasn’t seen yet! I’ve been quite a few places in the U.S., but for some reason haven’t wound up in Seattle yet, so I told Amelia she’s going to have to tell me all about it.
But back here, Henry and I are excited to embark on some one-on-one time together. I have to say I’ve been looking forward to it becasue while I of couse spend lots of time with Henry, it’s often along with his sister and it’s also in the usual run-run-run routine of everyday life. I feel like I’m always jumping around between work, shuttling him to appointments with therapists and supports, and life ends up whipping by pretty fast. For the next few days, we don’t have a lot to do other than spend time together and have some fun.
And Henry has come in with a pretty solid agenda. Henry is definitely the kind of kid that knows what he wants and isn’t afraid to say so, and he pretty confidently laid out a list of activities, when, where and how, for us to follow. Henry’s first grade teacher often said he will probably be president someday, and he definitely has those leadership qualities.
Henry’s list includes:
- Mini Golf
- Lunch and Chick Fil A
- Eating pizza in the living room while watching the Mario Movie
- Stay up late
- Have a picnic outside McDonald’s (I tried to suggest a more picturesque location for a picnic, but one time during COVID when there was no indoor dining at our local McDonald’s, Henry and I had lunch on the lawn outside and that has stayed with him as the ideal picnic scenario.)
- Go to the WOW Children’s Museum
- Go to the pool
- Take a hike
It is, I must say, a good list. We got right to business on Friday, knocking off the first four items on the list. I took off work for the afternoon and, like guys do, we hit the golf course! OK, a mini golf course, but honestly that is even much more MY speed than real golf.
The two of us had a blast, joking around and having fun on the course together. I didn’t keep score (who needs it?) but Henry feels that he won simply because he went first and got his ball in the hole first each time. Watching him golf reminds me a little sometimes of those guys with the brooms in curling, but he gets the job done kind of sweeping the ball forward, stroke by stroke. You can check out a quick cut of our golf adventure on this Instagram Reel.
After that we picked up some Chick Fil A for lunch and headed home. An afternoon in the hot sun took a little something out of both of us, so we grabbed a quick nap. Watching my kids grow up so fast, I often have moments of recognizing that it may not be TOO much longer that they actually want to do things like cuddle up next to me, so you can bet I take full advantage of those moments.
Following a little rest, we went out to pick up important supplies for the weekend, like Doritios, Capri Sun and cookies. We ordered some pizza and watched the Mario movie for a while, then took a break to get out in the backyard to play some basketball and baseball! Golf, backyard sports, pizza and chips…I know what you’re saying, this is all pretty cliche for a boys’ weekend, but hey, I am digging it.
It was a great day one. We stayed up late watching movies and cartoons and both of us knocked out pretty hard. We still have a couple days to go, and on the agenda for Saturday is that McDonald’s picnic and a trip to the children’s museum. We’ll see what other adventures await, but whatever they are, I’m glad to be experiencing them with my favorite little guy.
