I’ll Be Brave in the Tunnel

  
We went to Hermann Park this morning, where we bumped into Lillian’s ECLP classmate Beau while waiting for the train. Beau and Lillian sat together. 

“I know you’ll be scared in the tunnel, said Beau, “I’ll protect you.”

“I’m not scared of the train, silly goose,” Lilz replied, “and I’ll be brave in the tunnel.”

Kiting around the Park on a Saturday in March

Lillian spent Saturday with her Yia Yia and their friend Lauren at the Kite festival in Hermann Park. “Look, Yia Yia!” Lillian would say, “There’s a blue kite! What color is it?”

But there weren’t just kites flying and crashing, but people dressed as butterflies and dragons, azaleas to admire, singers and dancers, dogs needing petting, food trucks at which to graze and a reflecting pool with ducks at which to quack.

And, last but not least, an ice cream cone to finish the day!

Saturday in the Park with Lillian, Miranda and Nathan

Lillian has spent the last week recovering from pneumonia — reading, drawing, watching tv, sleeping and coughing. She’s a lot better and a little bit stir crazy. So Saturday afternoon, when her dad needed a few hours to rest, do laundry and clean the apartment, Lillian’s grandfather decided to take her to Hermann Park to ride the train. On the way, he picked up two of Lillian’s cousins, Miranda and Nathan, who’d just arrived home from tennis practice.

Saturday was one of those gorgeous days you get in Houston every now and then: sunny and just warm enough to think about ditching your sweater. What Lillian’s ePa did not take into account was that a very large number of other Houstonians would also decide that the park on a gorgeous day was the place to be. But, after 20 minutes of trying to find a parking spot, ePa ruthlessly cut in front of three other cars and stole a space. Fortunately, none of the other drivers was angry enough to start shooting, so Lillian and her cousins and grandfather hiked into the park.

The first stop was the train station. ePa bought tickets and we grabbed seats on the train and rode through the park, waving at all the joggers and picnickers. ePa kept an arm around Lillian, who was a bit too keen on hanging out of the moving train for ePa’s taste. The train operators have you exit through the gift shop: we managed to get out without buying any of the overpriced but interesting items on offer. Lillian did hug every single plush tiger, rabbit, hippopotamus and snake in the store.

After the train ride, we decided to take a walk around the duck pond. Any walk with Lillian near any body of water involves Lillian’s companions trying to keep her on the shore side and out of the water. Miranda and Nathan proved very helpful in this endeavor. Many sticks and leaves and small stones found themselves being flung into the water, and the ducks did not seem to desire a closer acquaintance with Lillian, much to her disappointment. As we walked, we saw a creature swimming along the shore. “Look!” some nearby kids cried, “a beaver!” A little later, it climbed out of the water onto the grass to get some of the bread people were feeding the ducks. Lillian said, “A kitty cat!” and ran to pet him. ePa managed to grab a corner of her shirt: “It’s not a kitty, Lilz, it’s a nutria.” Before Lillian could embrace him, the nutria slunk back into the water and swam away.

After a while, the day grew cooler and Lillian got tired and just a wee bit cranky, so we headed back to the car, giving her ample opportunity to use her current favorite words (“No! I don’t like that!”) Once again, the presence of cousins was a great help (Lillian has a fabulous assortment of cousins on the Graves and Denby and Wenner and Nuber sides — and probably some other sides I am forgetting — ranging in age from new-born to old fart) and, with charm and grace, they got her going in the right direction and restored to good cheer.

Once in the car, Lillian conked out. ePa and the cousins stopped at Sonic and had various delicious and decadent beverages, and Nathan and Miranda shared a number of truly awful jokes and puns, delivered with impeccable comic timing. Then, we dropped the cousins back at their place and delivered a refreshed, but very hungry, Lillian back to her dad and supper.

Walking in the Rain

My grandma Nancy and I like to walk in the rain…

Eating Fruit Snacks With A Fork

I eat fruit snacks with a fork.

Friday in the Park and at the Oncologist

Lillian and her grandpa spent the morning wandering around Hermann Park while Ashley was at her oncologist’s for a check up.

Ashley is doing well over all, but she has anemia and her white blood cell count is low. They will work on the anemia, but the low white blood cells are a side effect of her treatment. Her oncologist wants her to wear a mask when out in public to reduce her risk of catching a bug.