A Spur of the Moment Day Out With the Boys

I had to drive into the "city" today for a doctor's appointment.  My doctor is not far from Shawn's office, so we had lunch with him.  During lunch, Noah asked if we could go to the Air and Space Museum.  For those of you who don't know me, or haven't already surmised this, I'm not a spur of the moment mom.  I started thinking about what waited for us when we arrived home and realized we had nothing to rush home for, though.  Avery would fall asleep in the car, accomplishing only an hour nap on the ride home, it was due to rain and we would be cooped up in the house with a grouchy toddler, a grumpy mommy and a hyper ten year old.  Not really a good mix.  I knew I actually had cash in my wallet (for the parking fee) for a change, I had the stroller in the car and everything else I needed for an afternoon excursion, so everyone's jaws dropped when I said, "Sure, let's go!"  Noah gave me a quick hug and the requisite "You're the best mom EVER!" accolades (those feel good, especially after being the worst mom EVER the day before!).  We returned Shawn to work and off we went.

I'm really glad I listened to Noah because we had a great time before we even got out of the car.  I loosened the reigns and let Noah be his Aspy self.  He amazed me by showing me just how smart he is.  I know my kid is smart, but I still have those "Wow, my kid is really smart" moments.

Noah is notorious for his "I have a question!" moments in Scouts.  Never fails, every single field trip and event, Noah has a ton of questions.  I know, it's how kids learn.  But what we are trying to teach Noah is that if he will allow the guides/leaders to finish their tours--to finish their sentences--chances are good his questions will probably be answered.  Well, he didn't disappoint me today, either!  Not even 10 seconds into the elevator trip up to the observation deck, as the dear grandfatherly docent was giving his speech, Noah blurted out, "I have a question!"  I tried to smile apologetically to the other people on the elevator, then hung my head.  A dear older lady patted my arm and said, "Asking questions is good.  Foster that in him.  I can tell he's a smart boy."  If she only knew.  Once on the observation deck, I allowed him to run (within limits) while I read the little informative billboards to him and Avery.

Clear for take off!

It was at this time that another little boy caught my eye and I began to wonder, "Aspergers?" and I noticed that Noah had caught his mom's eye, too.  We moms worked our way towards each other and eventually we were standing next to each other.  She whispered to me, "Aspergers?"  I whispered back, "Yep. Yours?"  She nodded her head.  It's funny how I can recognize it so easily in other children but was able to deny it in my own for so many years.  

Back on the elevator, back to exploring.  Avery was thrilled with the many airplanes hanging from the ceiling, all of them lined up by row on the floor.  Noah's favorite is the SR-71 Blackbird (thank you, Transformers).  As we walked up and down the aisles, he would call out, "That's the --, that one is the --, that's the ---," and give me rundown on each of them, no matter if it was a jet/airplane, a missile, a gun or weapon of some sort, whatever.  He did this all without ever stopping to read any of the little information blurbs in front of each one.  I had to double-back each time with Avery, read the blurbs and see if he was correct.  Duh, of course he was!  This child reads non-stop and will read about anything and everything. He memorizes all of it, knows it by rote.

When we reached the space exploration wing, Noah became very frustrated with me.  He was trying to describe something with legs that lands on the moon and does such-and such.  He wanted the name for it, "You know Mom--the THING!"  He wasn't just frustrated with me, he was frustrated with himself and I sensed a meltdown approaching.  I could see yet another grandfatherly docent out of the corner of my eye watching us with amusement, thinking, "Come on, please don't let me down!  Get over here and please tell me you know what he's talking about!"  Finally sensing he was needed (or seeing the look of panic on my face?!), he approached with his big binder of information and picturing, asking if he could be of assistance (boy, could he ever!).  Noah described the thing with legs again and we learned it is a Lunar Landing Module. Whew, crisis averted!  He and Noah then carried on a ten minute conversation as this wonderful gentleman shared his knowledge with Noah and Noah shared his with him.  After we thanked him, as we were leaving, the man asked me how old my son is and said he was impressed with Noah's knowledge, "Ma'am, how does he know all of this?  You have a REALLY smart kid on your hands."  Second time today I've heard that!  I shook his hand and said, "Thank you, sir.  He reads a lot and is homeschooled.  I appreciate your encouragement, you have no idea how much it means."

Back in the parking lot, we found an econoline van with several car seats and booster seats in it parked next to our jeep.  I laughed when I saw the bumper sticker.  Pretty sure the driver has a good sense of humor.

Avery did finally get his nap on the 2 hour, "rush hour" drive home.  He was wiped by the time we left.

 Listening to Noah tell Shawn and my mom about our excursion tonight, I realized that even though he was flitting all over the place while I was reading off all the information boards to him, he was still taking in all the information.  He still does the same things you and I do, he just does them differently.  When will I ever learn that?

I had a great, spur of the moment time with my boys today, even in left field, and I have the memories to prove it.  I'm so glad I listened to Noah, my wise little boy.