I took a few days off to take careof my hubby who was suffering
from a spring flu bug.
But he's all better now
thanks to some good 'ol chicken soup,
warm slippers, Alka-Seltzer Plus,
and being treated like a god for
two days!
Honestly, I didn't get much
time with him
because it's spring break
for my grand kids
and it was my turn to watch them
on Monday and Tuesday.
"Watch" is a very vague term.
With my grand kids, it is
more appropriate to say
"entertain", "referee", "listen",
and "be amazed".
I remember when my children
were little.
A good cartoon and some
tater tots was all it took
to keep them satisfied
for an entire afternoon.
With my grand kids,
I felt like I had to prepare the
night before like a teacher does.
What will they do?
What will they eat?
What will they watch?
What will they play?
Luckily, they both love art projects,
and it was even luckier
that I just happen to have a
craft room.
(Well, it's really a hunting room,
extra bedroom, party supply, gourd
carving, odds and ends room.)
But, I managed to find markers
and glue and scissors and glitter
and paper of all colors.
We sat around the dining room table
and ended up making pipe cleaner
people with tissue paper clothes
and they colored a rejected gourd
that I started and never finished.
Then, with the mess still spread out
on the table,
the fun flowed into the living room
where every pillow, throw,
and footstool
was constructed into tents.
Inside they held the dog prisoner
and ate their yogurt crush cups.
To extend their attention span,
I rounded up a couple of glow sticks
that I hadn't used at Halloween
and I pulled all the blinds and curtains.
They got a good hour of pretend
camp-out from of those 89 cent
neon wands.
After that, crackers and cheese
made a great snack,
but also made a great mess
in the kitchen.
You would think for an
almost-nine-year-old
and a five year old
that they would find their mouths
fairly easily.
How come most of the crackers
ended up on the floor,
the Kool-aid on the table cloth,
and the cheese in the dog dish?
My house hadn't been so messy
since the year we remodeled.
I stood back and looked
at the path of destruction
and almost wanted to cry.
But, later,
when the dust had settled
and they wound down into little angels,
my granddaughter hugged me
and said,
"Nana- I'm glad you're not a neat-freak."
And, you know what?
I'm glad I'm not either.
Because they'll always remember
the fun they had on their spring break-
when Nana let them
destroy her house-
but made some wonderful memories
in return.
It was worth every cracker crumb.
