Posts tagged Xander
We only made it to the beach twice while Xander was here for christmas break. He is always so happy when we go. It made me realize that going to the beach with Xander is my favorite thing to do, my favorite place to be. It’s kind of a big deal, actually.
Before Mike moved to Ypsi we took turns visiting each other. When I came to LA we would always visit the beach. I would day dream about the day I got to bring Xander. I wondered if he would love it as much as I do. I would sit with Mike and wonder if I would ever even be able to bring Xander to the beach. I guess the beach became, in some way, the symbol for where I wanted to be, where I wanted Xander to be, where I wanted our lives to go.
Our decision to move to LA was not made lightly. Our move was not without struggle and heart ache. The first time we brought Xander to LA was exciting and stressful for me. There are so many things that I love about where we live and there was a small part of me that feared Xander would hate them…for whatever his reasons.
Xander’s first time at the beach was christmas eve night December 2010. There was a musician playing on the boardwalk, and Xander loved it but was too shy to dance. Once he put his feet in the sand there was no turning back. He loved it. We walked a little way onto the beach but Xander just wanted to run! I remember hanging back, while Mike and Xander ran to the water, and crying. Crying tears of happiness, for once….
The water was cold on our feet but he didn’t care. He was happy, he was joyful and for the first time in a long time I felt like everything was going to be ok. A few days after that we went back during the day so he could play in the sand. Oh boy did he play in the sand! Rolling head over heals, climbing on the rocks, running in the waves.
Xander was 6 when he first came to LA and of course I had seen him happy and excited, but never like this…he was just full of pure joy :)
Now, when I talk about going to the beach he plays off his excitement in typical Xander fashion. But I know it’s his favorite place too. I can tell when we’re driving and he catches the first glimpse of the water. I imagine we have the same expression on our faces.
So, that is why going to the beach with Xander is my favorite thing in the whole world.
The End
When Xander and I made the trip back to Michigan at the end of his Christmas break our flight got in late so we got a room near the airport. The next morning I woke up super early, ate something, got cleaned up and piddled around until Xander began to wake up. I was laying next to him watching TV when he opened his eyes and said ” Mom I woke up before you..I woke up before you”. Then he put his arm over his face and fell back asleep for another hour :)
He’s so funny.
<3
This past summer was Xander’s first here in L.A. I’m so use to Mike taking video of everything we do that I forget to take video on my own. While digging through old clips and trying to put little videos together I realize that my video footage stash is lacking! We did so many cool things over the summer, Disneyland, Universal City, camping in the mountains, La Brea tar pits, movie nights, play dates and tons of other things I failed to capture on video.
Luckily I take photos like a crazy person :P
