Grandma's House

Okay, I have been having way too much fun lately.  Four days a week my nine-month granddaughter stays with me during the day.  Our days are filled with the wonder and giggles of a little one learning about the world.  From the excitement of sending the little red car zooming off her high chair tray and onto the floor to endless, full belly laughter, during a rousing game of peek-a-boo she is a delight.  This week she is perfecting the roll.  I will head to the kitchen to get something, turn around and there she is halfway across the floor.  Her whole face lights up with a smile when I turn to look and she laughs before tucking her head and rolling again.  So much fun bundled up in a tiny being, so many wonderful moments shared, moments of joy and laughter to carry me through the weekend when she home with her parents.

An empty, quiet house was nice, but the laughter of children fills up more than a house it also fills up the heart.  So with only a day to myself my two older granddaughters came to stay with us for the weekend.  One is eight and the other is six.  They brought their unique brand of energy and fun to our house, so I decided to up my game.  With Halloween just days away and a yard decorated with pumpkins, ghosts and skeletons I put together a treasure hunt.  The kind where you are given a clue, which leads you to another and so on until the last clue, leads you to the treasure.  We spent the day outside in the sunshine, the girls having been told the decorations were off limits because of the hunt they would have later valiantly followed the rules letting the anticipation build until grandma and grandpa could not hold back and the first clue was delivered.  As I suspected the hunt lasted all of five minutes, the clues were easy and the children very clever, but the joy and shear glee of running from place to place, of thinking and solving and looking, and finding the prize lasted the rest of the night and into the next day and will no doubt last a lifetime with each time it is called up from memory and shared once again.

Fully Awake

I woke up feeling sluggish and fuzzy headed.  For a second I wasn’t sure where I was, then my brain fired up, registering the feel and scent of a down filled pillow and the feel of silky smooth sheets on the bed.  Morning sounds of stirring roommates and soft music playing filtered in and I inhaled deeply, stretching in the luxury of sleeping in on a weekend morning.  At the end of the workweek there was nothing better.  I smiled, my eyes closed, delaying the moment of being fully awake.

“Excuse me sir, are you interested in buying the bed?”

Settling In

At the end of the day, as the household settled down, a quiet seeped in.  It followed the lady of the house as she walked down the hall to her bedchamber.  She did not notice as she climbed into bed and nestled into her covers.

From the living room she could hear the television, a faint hum, distant and muted.  Her thoughts slowed and her limbs grew heavy preparing for sleep to take over.

A sharp bark brought her awake, eyes wide and staring at the intruder fluttering overhead.  It swooped around the ceiling, a small, dark bat seeking escape.   

Backyard Hunting

A chill was in the air and a carpet of soggy leaves strewn across the lawn muffled the sound of footsteps.  A black nose brushed the ground inhaling hidden scents of scurrying critters.

A pause.  Still as a statue the canine studied the ground, head cocked one way then the other, listening to the furtive movements.

A swift pounce and the inquisitive nose was thrust into the dirt rooting for the delectable morsel.

Not quick enough the four footed hunter raised a dirt covered face to study the ground again, sniffing and listening for the location of the escaped prey.

Life Happens

For the past few weeks I have been taking care of my baby granddaughter four days a week, from six in the morning until six in the evening.  I enjoy my time with her very much, even though the long days leave me wore out and unable to focus on much beyond making dinner in the evening.  It makes posting with any regularity a bit more challenging, but, hey, what's living if you aren't being challenged in some way?

Challenges can be very inspiring.  They allow me to use my problem solving skills, to evaluate my priorities, focusing on the ones that truly matter and to be more efficient in getting things accomplished.  Yes, that's the spirit, focus on the bright, positive side of these bumps in the road, cherishing the opportunity to grow.

I will be taking care of the little one for a few more weeks before her parents whisk her away to a child care provider closer to her mom's workplace.  I will miss her when the time comes, for having her with me has given me more than I imagined, as does every time I get the opportunity to care for any of my children's children.

I'll be writing.  

The Inheritance (7.5)

A gentle breeze swept through the park playfully setting the leaves on the oak trees to dance, twinkling in the morning sunlight as the two women made their way toward the boat landing.  Lilly felt the soft touches of air on her face, ruffling a strand of hair hanging free of her ponytail along the side of her cheek.  The beginning of a warning formed in back of her mind, flickering in and out of awareness with the wayward traces of wind winding through the trees.  She looked back over her shoulder at her oldest sitting at one of the picnic tables keeping an eye on her siblings and cousins before turning back to watch where they were going. 

Her sister walked a step in front of her, her head high as if she were a queen out for a stroll among her subjects.  Lilly frowned.  She didn’t remember her sister being so confident, so sure of herself.  Granted ten years apart and anything could be different about the family she left behind, and yet, this morning her sister seemed even more unlike she remembered her being when they were last together than she had last night.  In a way she felt she was watching a video of herself strolling in this very same park as a teenager more than forty years ago. 

Overhead a lone white cloud moved between the earth and the sun sending a shadow sweeping across the park, cooling the air for a brief moment before moving on and the warmth of sunlight bathed the park again.  They arrived at the landing just as Tom was parking the Yukon and now empty trailer.  By the beach Lily could see Brad standing with a rope in his hand tethering him to the floating craft now resting in its element.

To Be Continued... 

The Baby

Pick up the baby, feed the baby, change the baby, rock the baby and gently lay her in her crib.

Pick up the baby, play with the baby, feed the baby, change the baby, rock the baby and gently lay her in her crib.

Pick up the baby, play with the baby, feed the baby, change the baby, read to the baby, rock the baby and gently lay her in her crib.

Watch with wonder as she grows into toddlerhood, zooms through childhood, transitions through adolescence to adulthood and gently closes the door as she steps out into the world.