“Can you find the baby puffer fish?” Amelia asked Ezra after bringing him one of his favorite lift-the-flap board books and climbing up into the chair at the kitchen table next to his. Valentina had already fed the kids and we were finally sitting down to our lunch. Ezra had been clingy all morning and …
Distracted
Four hours of outdoor play meant early dinner, bath and bedtime for my grandchildren. The second day of spring offered nearly perfect weather punctuated by an unexpected thunderstorm. The parents coaxed the siblings through baths while I layered peanut butter and jelly on toasty blueberry bagels with strawberry cheesecake yogurts on the side for everyone …
Cast Off
Fair weather and longer afternoons means lots of outdoor play for the grandkids. Boat rides in the evening after dinner at Lolly and Poppy’s are a special treat. It has been so windy of late that only recently did we dust off the cobwebs for a sunset cruise. Last year, Timothy and Ezra, both pre-walkers, …
Rich Enough
“Yolly, I’m going to Dollar Tree to win a prize!” Amelia cheered as she bounded into the kitchen waving her dollar bill in her hand. “You mean you get to choose a toy to buy,” her mom corrected with a grin. I was immediately taken back a decade and a half, thinking with a grin …
Give and Take
I am an oldest child as is my husband. I am constantly reminding Amelia and Thomas that we have this in common by sharing stories from my own childhood. As their younger siblings have come into their own and want only to be with the big kids doing exactly what they’re doing, I’ve tried to …
Surrendered
Ezra went down for his nap like clockwork and I’ll be honest, I was amazed. The long anticipated move is underway. After only two weeks on the market, the offer came and with it, a ten day closing. No one is ever truly prepared for a move. Packing up your entire household, even after only …
It’s All There
“Forty-three, forty four, forty-five, oh no! Two are missing! We need to go on a zoo animal hunt. Our turtle and our lion are missing.” Amelia was climbing all over the bed where her mom was trying to change Ezra. I was doing the daily zoo animal headcount as the kids prepared to head home. …
Butting Heads
I wedged Timothy and Ezra, dressed in warm layers and puffy jackets into blue car, the two seater push car we have used for zoo trips since the grands outgrew strollers. Trekking across the parking lot and moving quickly from place to place sometimes means the younger ones need a lift but hoisting these solid …
Standing on Tiptoe
Near the edge of the woods where my husband puts out deer corn in winter, he mounted a motion sensor light high up on a tree. When the deer show up to polish off their nightly feast, the sensor triggers the light and for about thirty seconds, silhouettes are visible along with the occasional flash …
Guard The Deposit
Amelia attended her first wedding as flower girl for my nephew and his bride. Thomas was ring bearer and Timothy and Ezra dressed to the nines were just bonus cuteness. In the wake of Christmas fun and festivities, each of our grands wracked up a pretty significant sleep deficit. Combine that with overstimulation, overindulgence, and unexpected …
A Fitting Reply 