Another Valentine's Day has come and gone. I really did begin a post to publish, but it is too late now ~ I got busy with my two trips out in what the blizzard dumped on us picking up too many supplies for me to add another ounce to my load ~ I headed home from the first trip, put things away and promptly headed back out again.
I used to celebrate Valentine's Day when I was younger and this year I had decided to just cook dinner for Thomas (my son) and call it a day. When I got home from my second trip he was actually awake just after noon. His suggestion to watch some t.v. led to both of us falling asleep in front of the t.v. in the afternoon, him from a cold and me from utter exhaustion after my adventures trudging through the snow.
I woke up and baked some potatoes to go along with the steak I picked up for dinner. The potatoes were cooked before he even woke up! (I wish I had the ability to sleep anytime and for great periods of time!) Needless to say he go up after 8:00 and I had already eaten one potato while waiting for him.
My phone rang and my granddaughter phoned to wish me a Happy Valentines Day ~ my favourite valentine indeed! She had just had dinner with my son and her Mom and amazingly enough my son had prompted her to phone!
Over the course of the conversation we made plans to get together for a sleepover and she suggested the following day. Without hesitating I said "Of Course you can sleep over" and quickly decided that my son and I were not having steak for dinner as the result would be another trip to the market on Saturday to pick up food she would eat.
When my son finally awoke I told him the good news and he was concerned about his cold and getting her sick ~ making me appear irresponsible in saying yes ~ but, it is only a cold! He sleeps most of the time she is here anyway!
I won ~ as usually happens in our disagreements ~ he lost steak and the argument. I ate another potato and told him he could have some hot sausage I had purchased instead so I had to teach him how to cook that and he did a pretty good job.
I stayed up too late (nothing new these days) and finally went to bed around 3:00 a.m., regretting it on Saturday when I woke up, never fully waking up that too familiar pain stemming from my neck acting up in my knee but still able to stand and walk (thankfully!) For a change I did not plan anything deciding to wing it with Ainsley.
I was on my computer when I decided to make some home fries. While in the kitchen, I got distracted with mopping the kitchen floor which was long overdue. As I was completing the task and rinsing my mop for the final time, the handle of the mop pushed over a 2 quart container of Kool Aide all over the floor! I watched it fall slow motion and hit the floor with a plop and a splash!
I was shocked and surprised by this happening. I tried to clean it up with the swiffer and decided it was futile and grabbed a big towel and made life easier. Still in disbelief despite seeing the huge red lake of juice on my clean floor.
It figures doesn't it? I went back to my computer ~ homefries forgotten about for a minute, finally laughing to myself about the incident. I went back into the kitchen and resumed my late breakfast. My son and his family were due sometime that afternoon, I am glad it was not during that fiasco!
They arrived with a plate of sugar cookies for us. My daughter in law is awesome (not because she brought cookies), she is such a good wife, mother and overall person! I am just delighted to know her and be involved in their lives!
We got rid of the adults and began to settle into our routine. Backpack up in Gramma's room, coat hung up, boots drying by the door. We got caught up and she said she just found out Jeffrey had been in a band. I told her that I knew it, and asked her if she ever heard their music which she hadn't so I took off the Tom Petty I had been listening to all morning and put on my son's C.D.
We played pickup sticks and chatted about this and that. It was nice and low key. She picked up the Sand Art gift I had given Tom for Christmas from one of our Art Sessions which reminded me that Patrick and I had tripped over another old Sand Art kit while he was looking for all those games on Thomas's birthday.
That was all she needed to hear and we went up to wake up Tom and grab the Sand Art. Tom was not surfacing so we left him to his snooze and went downstairs to get set up. It had no containers and somehow we could not locate the leftover sand from our last episode despite checking all of the craft tubs in the dining room.
I located a couple of random glass bottles and washed labels and dried them. I was worried there wasn't enough sand for two ( I was right) so we improvised and I pulled out the glitter supply and we topped our projects off with glitter. (Effective thinking 101 paid off there!)
She had me watching some Goosebumps shows on t.v. which I was kind of amazed she liked ~ the topics were alien (really alien!) Finally she decided she was hungry ~ very hungry all of the sudden so I steamed some potatoes and carrots and turned on the broiler.
We tried to wake up Tom again, but he decided he was not hungry and went back to sleep yet again. Not a big deal to me or to Ainsley ~ he know's how to cook a steak! We ate in the living room ~ not something I would normally do, she ate all of her veggies but not her steak (that girl never eats everything!)
She had found the Bop It again and was trying to beat her old record and not having much luck so we played together ~ me in charge of flick and twist while she had spin, pull and bop and we tried to get beyond 10 (laughing and mimicking the game when it said "Dude you gotta do better than that"!
I was exhausted and suggested P.J.s and t.v. up in my room around 8:00 ~ we were laughing at Ridiculousness and all of it's ridiculousness (trying to beat our score during commercials). We finally decided to put on a movie appropriate for her, settling on EPIC.
What a cool movie! What I saw of it! We were both fast asleep within an hour ~ I just woke up a few minutes ago coming downstairs and finding Thomas on his computer. He had taken the liberty of cleaning Ainsleys steak up for me.
I am still exhausted and am nearly ready for bed again. I know that I will be up early in the morning and without a doubt cooking and doing some project before I am even awake. I am not complaining ~ I live for my time with my little monkey!
February Vacation begins this week. My kids have been out of school for a while now so it doesn't even usually register in my brain anymore ~ but with the prospect of being able to help out my son and his family I am all over that Vacation this year!
It was nice having a calm and unplanned visit with my granddaughter. I do so enjoy her stories and listening to her and playing with her. She brings so much joy and inspiration and Love into my life! Truth be told I do not know what I would do without her I am truly blessed and honoured to be one of her Gramma's!
The other day my friends husband asked me how it is to live with my son. My son has lived with me for his whole life and as you know I have issue with empty nest syndrome and being alone, still not over either of my other son's leaving and not looking forward at all to the day that my baby leaves.
Having distanced myself and been the person looking in from the outside in all things family, my children were my "family" and I don't understand when people look forward to not having their children around. The connection to family has always been important I can never get enough of them (although at times my son's schedule and mine conflict and it causes me anxiety.)
They are the one family that couldn't keep me away even if they wanted to, although Jeff did when he stayed in town with my Mom to finish school 17 years ago and distanced himself from the rest of us. I find it very reassuring that he is back (sort of) and let's me be a part of his life through Ainsley.
I can still remember so vividly the day my middle son sat me down at our kitchen table and said "Mom ~ Thomas is the man of the house now, think of him as you would me." and then he moved in with his Dad, something he had dreamed of since he was a small boy.
That was a huge loss to me and Thomas's life which we still are adjusting to all these years later. At least he still calls, comes over and spends time with us regularly, good son that he is! I do not understand how, like my friends husband wonders how it is living with my son, how a parent can choose not to be a part of their children's lives.
While in my life, I am separate from a majority of my extended family (not really by choice so much other than life just happening) I could never imagine being separated from my sons for too long of a time, despite my fantasy life where I am off and traveling the world alone.
My children have saved my life on more than one occasion without them ever realizing it and now I am blessed with a sweet little girl and wonderful daughter in law to expand my "inner circle of family". They keep me going and make me who I am and make me so much more of a total person!
I used to celebrate Valentine's Day when I was younger and this year I had decided to just cook dinner for Thomas (my son) and call it a day. When I got home from my second trip he was actually awake just after noon. His suggestion to watch some t.v. led to both of us falling asleep in front of the t.v. in the afternoon, him from a cold and me from utter exhaustion after my adventures trudging through the snow.
I woke up and baked some potatoes to go along with the steak I picked up for dinner. The potatoes were cooked before he even woke up! (I wish I had the ability to sleep anytime and for great periods of time!) Needless to say he go up after 8:00 and I had already eaten one potato while waiting for him.
My phone rang and my granddaughter phoned to wish me a Happy Valentines Day ~ my favourite valentine indeed! She had just had dinner with my son and her Mom and amazingly enough my son had prompted her to phone!
Over the course of the conversation we made plans to get together for a sleepover and she suggested the following day. Without hesitating I said "Of Course you can sleep over" and quickly decided that my son and I were not having steak for dinner as the result would be another trip to the market on Saturday to pick up food she would eat.
When my son finally awoke I told him the good news and he was concerned about his cold and getting her sick ~ making me appear irresponsible in saying yes ~ but, it is only a cold! He sleeps most of the time she is here anyway!
I won ~ as usually happens in our disagreements ~ he lost steak and the argument. I ate another potato and told him he could have some hot sausage I had purchased instead so I had to teach him how to cook that and he did a pretty good job.
I stayed up too late (nothing new these days) and finally went to bed around 3:00 a.m., regretting it on Saturday when I woke up, never fully waking up that too familiar pain stemming from my neck acting up in my knee but still able to stand and walk (thankfully!) For a change I did not plan anything deciding to wing it with Ainsley.
I was on my computer when I decided to make some home fries. While in the kitchen, I got distracted with mopping the kitchen floor which was long overdue. As I was completing the task and rinsing my mop for the final time, the handle of the mop pushed over a 2 quart container of Kool Aide all over the floor! I watched it fall slow motion and hit the floor with a plop and a splash!
I was shocked and surprised by this happening. I tried to clean it up with the swiffer and decided it was futile and grabbed a big towel and made life easier. Still in disbelief despite seeing the huge red lake of juice on my clean floor.
It figures doesn't it? I went back to my computer ~ homefries forgotten about for a minute, finally laughing to myself about the incident. I went back into the kitchen and resumed my late breakfast. My son and his family were due sometime that afternoon, I am glad it was not during that fiasco!
They arrived with a plate of sugar cookies for us. My daughter in law is awesome (not because she brought cookies), she is such a good wife, mother and overall person! I am just delighted to know her and be involved in their lives!
We got rid of the adults and began to settle into our routine. Backpack up in Gramma's room, coat hung up, boots drying by the door. We got caught up and she said she just found out Jeffrey had been in a band. I told her that I knew it, and asked her if she ever heard their music which she hadn't so I took off the Tom Petty I had been listening to all morning and put on my son's C.D.
We played pickup sticks and chatted about this and that. It was nice and low key. She picked up the Sand Art gift I had given Tom for Christmas from one of our Art Sessions which reminded me that Patrick and I had tripped over another old Sand Art kit while he was looking for all those games on Thomas's birthday.
That was all she needed to hear and we went up to wake up Tom and grab the Sand Art. Tom was not surfacing so we left him to his snooze and went downstairs to get set up. It had no containers and somehow we could not locate the leftover sand from our last episode despite checking all of the craft tubs in the dining room.
I located a couple of random glass bottles and washed labels and dried them. I was worried there wasn't enough sand for two ( I was right) so we improvised and I pulled out the glitter supply and we topped our projects off with glitter. (Effective thinking 101 paid off there!)
She had me watching some Goosebumps shows on t.v. which I was kind of amazed she liked ~ the topics were alien (really alien!) Finally she decided she was hungry ~ very hungry all of the sudden so I steamed some potatoes and carrots and turned on the broiler.
We tried to wake up Tom again, but he decided he was not hungry and went back to sleep yet again. Not a big deal to me or to Ainsley ~ he know's how to cook a steak! We ate in the living room ~ not something I would normally do, she ate all of her veggies but not her steak (that girl never eats everything!)
She had found the Bop It again and was trying to beat her old record and not having much luck so we played together ~ me in charge of flick and twist while she had spin, pull and bop and we tried to get beyond 10 (laughing and mimicking the game when it said "Dude you gotta do better than that"!
I was exhausted and suggested P.J.s and t.v. up in my room around 8:00 ~ we were laughing at Ridiculousness and all of it's ridiculousness (trying to beat our score during commercials). We finally decided to put on a movie appropriate for her, settling on EPIC.
What a cool movie! What I saw of it! We were both fast asleep within an hour ~ I just woke up a few minutes ago coming downstairs and finding Thomas on his computer. He had taken the liberty of cleaning Ainsleys steak up for me.
I am still exhausted and am nearly ready for bed again. I know that I will be up early in the morning and without a doubt cooking and doing some project before I am even awake. I am not complaining ~ I live for my time with my little monkey!
February Vacation begins this week. My kids have been out of school for a while now so it doesn't even usually register in my brain anymore ~ but with the prospect of being able to help out my son and his family I am all over that Vacation this year!
It was nice having a calm and unplanned visit with my granddaughter. I do so enjoy her stories and listening to her and playing with her. She brings so much joy and inspiration and Love into my life! Truth be told I do not know what I would do without her I am truly blessed and honoured to be one of her Gramma's!
The other day my friends husband asked me how it is to live with my son. My son has lived with me for his whole life and as you know I have issue with empty nest syndrome and being alone, still not over either of my other son's leaving and not looking forward at all to the day that my baby leaves.
Having distanced myself and been the person looking in from the outside in all things family, my children were my "family" and I don't understand when people look forward to not having their children around. The connection to family has always been important I can never get enough of them (although at times my son's schedule and mine conflict and it causes me anxiety.)
They are the one family that couldn't keep me away even if they wanted to, although Jeff did when he stayed in town with my Mom to finish school 17 years ago and distanced himself from the rest of us. I find it very reassuring that he is back (sort of) and let's me be a part of his life through Ainsley.
I can still remember so vividly the day my middle son sat me down at our kitchen table and said "Mom ~ Thomas is the man of the house now, think of him as you would me." and then he moved in with his Dad, something he had dreamed of since he was a small boy.
That was a huge loss to me and Thomas's life which we still are adjusting to all these years later. At least he still calls, comes over and spends time with us regularly, good son that he is! I do not understand how, like my friends husband wonders how it is living with my son, how a parent can choose not to be a part of their children's lives.
While in my life, I am separate from a majority of my extended family (not really by choice so much other than life just happening) I could never imagine being separated from my sons for too long of a time, despite my fantasy life where I am off and traveling the world alone.
My children have saved my life on more than one occasion without them ever realizing it and now I am blessed with a sweet little girl and wonderful daughter in law to expand my "inner circle of family". They keep me going and make me who I am and make me so much more of a total person!
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