San Antonio: Like a second home

San Antonio is in many ways like a second home to me (says the guy whose family is living in a temporary second home in Woodson Terrace).

My mom and dad met and married in San Antonio. Both sets of my grandparents were there, as well as several aunts and uncles. It’s just always been the go-to place for me my whole life.

My Nan’s house, in particular, is sort of one constant in my life. I have visited it since I was a baby. And while many things inside the house have changed over the years, other things have stayed the same. And so I always love to visit my Nan and to just be there in her house.

One new things this time around was Nan’s new puppy. We learned Josie is a little freaked out by little dogs (strangely, she doesn’t have much problem with big dogs), but over the course of our time there, she made peace with the puppy.

The girls had been looking forward to spending some time in the pool, especially after having their appetites whetted by the pool in Houston.

The tricky thing with the pool is that we have four children so close in age, and only two parents. None of them can really swim yet. But they made some good progress this year.

Jadzia and Ludi and Josie put on their floaties and gingerly entered the pool. One at a time I took them for turns around the pool while the others stayed on the steps in the shallow end. After a while, they noticed there were also some floating noodles. Jadzia was the first to realize that with her floatie swimsuit and a noodle, she could float freely without being held. Before long, the two big girls were swimming all around the pool with their various flotation aids.

Josie mostly stuck to the steps. She was very interested in trying to do tricks on the metal rail. But I also took her around for many turns in the pool.

We don’t have cable at home, so when we visit Nan it’s also an opportunity to watch programs we don’t normally. Often this is Food Network fare, like Alton Brown’s Good Eats. But this time around, Yoli was interested in HGTV because of our destroyed kitchen and the impending construction/remodel. She came away with many new ideas.

Yoli did a lot of cooking, which Nan seemed very excited about. Of course one of my favorite things at Nan’s is taking tea in the mornings and afternoons.
There’s nothing I’d rather do deep in the heart of Texas than drink some tea.