There were more than a few tears, and plenty of when-is-our-next-reunion planning to soften the blow.
As the grownups were wiping their eyes, Carter took the opportunity for some constructive play. “We’re playing strangers,” Carter told us. Slightly confused, but not even remotely worried (we were already thoroughly charmed by Carter’s nurturing approach towards Mimi), we watched on and learned how to play strangers.
Carter: Mimi, wan’t to get in my van?
Mimi: Yeah
Carter: No! You’re supposed to say no!
Mimi: Ok
Carter: Mimi, wan’t to get in my van?
Mimi: No
Carter: But I have candy.
Mimi: Candy?! Yeah!
Carter: No! You’re supposed to say no!
Mimi: *Sigh* Ok
Carter: Mimi, wan’t to get in my van and have some candy?
Mimi (Clearly struggling over the dilemma): Umm...no. (Sad face.)
Carter: It’s ok, I work with your parents.
Mimi: (Blank stare)
Carter: You’re supposed to ask for their ID!
But this point, Aimee and I were actively taking parenting notes from a seven year old. We were beyond impressed at the degree of street smarts Cicely and Donyel had conveyed to their kids.
After Carter went off to school and Cicely went off to do a bit of work, Donyel took us to visit the San Salvador botanical gardens.
The gardens themselves were phenomenal, and we marveled at yet one more difference in civic life between El Salvador and Nicaragua.
But the real attraction to our two year old was the giant playground in the middle of the park. And I do mean giant. There were at least two football fields’ worth of traditional and repurposed playground equipment, and it was a toddler paradise.
But the marquee attraction was a giant slide in the corner of the park. The second I saw it, I knew where we would be headed. But, ever the optimist, I tried to redirect Mimi towards some attractions in the park that didn’t make me wonder if I was current on my life insurance premium.
Me: Hey look, Mimi! Want to go down that small slide?
Mimi: Nope!
Me: How about the medium one?! That looks sufficiently dangerous.
Mimi: Nope!
Me: Sigh. The giant, rickety, terrifying one?
Mimi: Yep! The big one!
At the top, I gave Mimi one last chance to back out. Or at least allow me to. No such luck.
I’m not going to say that I was completely proud of the degree of fear that I was feeling. So I’m going to frame it as a paternal instinct for the safety of my child. Yeah, let’s go with that.
But we survived. All seven times that Mimi made me go down it. And I’ll admit, the giggling “whheeeee” of your two year old does slightly cancel out some of the terror. Some of it.
The adrenaline wore off by the time we got home, and all four of us collapsed into a mega family nap.
Then it was time for one last swim in the embassy pool. By that point, we were fairly familiar with the section of the embassy surrounding the pool and play area, and I felt a bit more emboldened to walk around. As Cicely had been telling me all week, the Marines weren’t going to throw me in the Brig for chasing my two year old across the parking lot.
We wandered past the Marine barracks, the motor pool, and an emergency first aid rallying point that our two year old (not-unreasonably) presumed was a “Mimi-sized helicopter pad.” This kid has definitely grown up on hospital grounds.
That night was the going away party for an embassy staffer who was off to her next duty station. Most embassy staff serve for two or three years terms, so people are always coming and going.
The house that hosted the party belonged to a family from Hawaii who quite-impressively brought a bit of beach culture with them.
That guy wins dad of the year. Hand-made halfpipe in your backyard? Not even a competition.
The tacos and margaritas being served that night were a fitting last meal before we went back to Arizona. Everyone at the party treated us as if we were staff ourselves. Throughout our entire trip, the entire embassy community welcomed us to their little corner of the world, and they couldn’t have been more inviting.
While the grownups wistfully recalled the previous week, Mimi just sat in the corner and tried to figure out why her parents could accept tacos from strangers, but she had to turn down the candy. Growing up is hard.
