Nothing quite measures up to the experience of being a Grammie – of course you have to have fabulous kids yourself in order to get great grandkids – and that’s what I have! They arrived last Friday around noon along with their mom and the last few days have been a non-stop whirl of kiddos. Julia recently turned 4 and with her every-increasing vocabulary and newly-acquired “I’m 4 and then I’ll be 5 and then I’ll be 6″ mentality, she was a force to be reckoned with! She is a non-stop bundle of energy who matches her physical style with a running commentary on everything – from her bathroom habits to her sister’s behavior and beyond!
Lydia is 17 months old and just recently decided perhaps it was time to walk so she entertained us all with her Frankenstein-like gait and her engaging smile. She hasn’t acquired much of a vocabulary yet but possibly because Julia hasn’t allowed her to get a word in edgewise. She does, however, understand exactly what is going on – take yesterday when Julia and I were getting into swimsuits to head for the pool while Lydia took her afternoon nap. Once she spotted us in swim wear she headed for the beach bag, took out her suit and tried to put it on – clearly a nap was the furthest thing from her mind and she vocalized that for several minutes. In the end, Lydia napped while Julia and I got in a short time at the pool before it stormed.
By last night Julia was clearly tired of being gone from home and her dad – she let us all know how much she missed Iowa, that we would just have to leave Springfield and come to Iowa if we ever want to see her again – and to further make her point she was up at 3:30 a.m. raring to go! By time Burl and I got up a little after 6, Ralph had already fed the girls, loaded the car and was ready to head out – definitely not how she had planned the day but it did get them to their final destination a few hours earlier than planned.
Tonight the house is quiet and orderly – I’m reminded of the first letter I got from my father after arriving at Drury College – he said “dining room attendance is off by 1/3, the car spends more time in the driveway, the gas tank stays fuller, the phone is in its cradle in the at-ready position and seldom rings – and YOU are missed.” So life returns to our mode of “normal” until the next family arrival – now scheduled for the first week in August in time for Stacey’s 20-year reunion at Kickapoo.
