Today we went to Ebbetts Field to meet some friends for a play date. Ebbetts is owned by the US Embassy and is on one of the loveliest spots in Dakar situated right next to the ocean on a cliff. The view is incredible and the grounds themselves are a piece of paradise. Ebbetts is clean, has a softball diamond (complete with concession stand and batting cage), a basketball court, a jungle gym, swings, picnic areas and plots for home gardens. Gusi loves Ebbetts so much that it is one of the first places he could name and locate in Dakar soon after our arrival.
After a lot of running around, climbing, jumping and playing, I brought Gusi home. Of course he didn't want to get out of the car, so I let him stay in it with our gardener* for half an hour...honking the horn, pushing buttons, playing with the steering wheel. Finally, it was his nap time, so I went to fish him out. I didn't have to convince him of anything--he told me straight out: "Mami, fais do-do" (which is how francophone children say "go night-night"). He did add one caveat: in his grandmother's bed. (Even though my mom left a few weeks ago, the guest bedroom remains her bedroom.)
So, after a quick diaper change and washing our hands, off I took him to the guest bedroom, pulled back the covers and put him in bed. I snuggled up next to him. His eyes were drooping but he reached out his arms and wrapped them around my neck. I told him "I love you Gusi". He smiled and said "I love you Mami" and closed his eyes and fell asleep. My heart just melted.
*I've decided that we don't really have a gardener as much as a Manny (a male nanny) who has a green thumb. Tony is absolutely wonderful with Gusi and spends time teaching him how to throw, kick, run, balance, jump and skip. If Gusi becomes a star soccer forward in his school years, I will know where it all began.
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