Everyday with Liam is fun and entertaining but then there are those special days that stand out. The days when he makes your heart sing just with the pure joy of being with him. He has a way to make me see the world in a whole new light. A way to make me slow down and know that there is nothing more important than that very moment that the two of us are sharing. Wednesday October 20th was one of those days.Who would think a a little boy of 11 months could be so much fun to hang with, but Liam is. We set off for Salem on a sunny, crisp fall day full of color. Liam was dressed in his finest stripped trousers with lots of fall colors in them. He had on his pumpkin hat I made him and so off we went.
Salem is so festive in October. It’s when all the witches and ghosts come to visit. The smells of popcorn and friend dough fill the air and people are dressed in crazy costumes. It was a day for walking and exploring all that Salem had to offer. For Liam it is his first Halloween and he was ready to get into it.
When we arrived Liam put on his costume. Right over his pumpkin hat went his devil hat. He didn’t want to be left out of the festivities. In Salem you have to be part of the scenery. Liam is game for anything. That’s the first thing that I liked about the day. Just seeing him sitting in his carriage with those hats on cracked me up. He laughed also. See a good friend should always laugh with you even if they don’t know what your laughing about.
Off we went down Essex street and it wasn’t long before we encountered some strange happenings
I love pushing Liam in the carriage, especially on a beautiful day. It brings back memories of when I used to take Chris and Jenna riding. We would talk about all kinds of things, stop when something came along that we though was interesting and I always feel a sense of peace when I’m pushing the carriage. I know I am doing something good for him and for me. Carriage pushing creates a special bond. The first bond of getting to love the great outdoors. Liam is so funny in the carriage. Lesson #1....sit up straight, hold on and look around and take it all in. How can you see the world if your slouching down or resting. Not my boy, he’s sits up tall and holds the front tray of the carriage. He doesn’t want to miss a thing. I notice this about him and it makes me smile.
We walked down to the Peabody Essex Museum, passing the wrought iron fences that keep us out of the famous houses. Liam liked the fence so being a good Nana I snuck in to one of the yards and we played peek a boo behind the fence. Gales of laughter from the two of us. And of course a photo of Liam peeking inside. No worries, I’m from Salem and it wasn’t the first time I’ve ever gone through a gate I wasn’t suppose to. We continued on our walk. Lots of people down by the museum, some dressed up and some not. I wonder if those young adults think tattoo's are Halloween dress-up attire. Saw a lot of those but they were not up for discussion with The Boy and me. We moved beyond them and went into the museum.
Ah now more our speed. There was a group of Red Hats and boy didn’t they love Liam. Well he just showed them his very best smile and sent them on their way saying what a sweet boy he was. Liam does that to people. Lesson number 2......always smile at whoever takes the time to speak to you. You never know if you will like someone if you don’t give them a chance. Most often you feel so much better after talking to someone that might need a bit of a lift. Of course I would tell Liam not to talk to strangers on his own. That would not be safe. There were lots of children in the museum also and Liam had the best time just watching them jump around and play. He likes kids and he likes to watch them. He learns and listens. Lesson number 3.....pay attention to your surroundings. You could learn something new that you didn’t know before and even if you don’t learn anything people watching is lots of fun. Me and my girlfriends do it all the time but that’s for another story.
This day Liam and I brought our lunch to the museum. Because I have a membership we can get in free. They have a lovely atrium full of light and we got ourselves a table and had our yogurt and crackers and just enjoyed the lovely surroundings. Lesson #4. Enjoy lunch out with family and friends. Sometimes it doesn’t have to be fancy. It’s really just about sharing quality time. We laughed over our simple lunch and both of us were very satisfied at the end of our time there. Now off to the ladies room. Liam likes the ladies room, he gets to go into the big stall.....and I get to take care of business. One last stop before leaving the museum. The gift shop. Well let’s just get to Lesson #5. Don’t take babies in carriages into very small gift shops. Liam was a bit upset when we had to leave quite quickly. He was having so much fun pulling all those lovely expensive scarves and pocketbooks off the shelves.
We had time for a bit more of walking on the mall before heading home. My little guy was still sitting up so straight in his carriage and it’s a good thing to because it wasn’t long before we came across a very large witch. She was a beauty (I really thing it was a he). Very tall, sepia in color and so still.....Liam was totally fascinated and so was I. I knelt beside his carriage and he just kept pointing at this strange “thing”, jibber jabbering away to me. Of course I knew every word he was saying....”look Nana, look how big she is. Look how still she is”.....and then boom, the witch spit out a cackle and Liam went crazy with laughter. Me to. What a wonderful, fun moment. The sound of Liam laughing gives me a high like no drug could. Then the witch invited him over, stroller and all and let me photograph them together (for a fee). Liam pointing up to her in his child like wonder. Such an ending to a perfect fall day. We walked back to the car, both of us tired but knowing it was a fun day.
On the drive home, as Liam was sleeping, I thought about our special day together. I realized that there was nothing that I would have given, nothing that I would have exchanged for this one day. The magic of being in his company to share the sights, sounds, smells and laughter of his first Halloween season. To see the joy on his face as he traveled through the day with me in all it’s simpleness was my “treat” this day. I will savor the memory of it.
And finally.....Lesson #6....enjoy every moment that comes your way. Both big and small because all we have is this one moment. Thank you Liam for the smallness of you but also for the big moments that you create.
To see photo’s from our day in Salem visit my MobileMe Gallery:
http://gallery.me.com/cheryl.crotty#100130