Staying in today. Why?? Mother Nature, you do know it is January, mid-January!? Winter season? Right. Where snowflakes fall, snowplows make madness at end of one’s laneway, stop signs are ignored, dress like a big puffy marshmallow, know where your dog peeped, tis the season to be freezin’, can see your bad breath, drive with caution next to open fields, chestnuts roasting on an open fire, so many winter sports beginning with ‘s’, snow glistens on the branches and over fields. That winter! What in the world is today?! Not a glistening morning.
Right now, as I blog in the early morning darkness, it’s RAINING at this very moment with a crazy wind!!! Wind I expect, but rain, not so much. Oh well. Be….. Yes, Karen, be grateful. But I just washed my truck yesterday!! I could have had a free wash. Whambulance. Goodness I need to watch the weather channel more closely. So now my brain goes into gear and I am thinking, I will not be going out for a drive today because if I have learned anything over the last few years having a red clay dirt lane or pathway on the island, there is a good chance a softness to the clay will follow in the rain’s wake today. Meaning it is like a red flag for a bull…driving on clay means slipping and sliding and skidding, leaving huge tread marks, which seem to be fun for some. And then get really cold the next day. And those tire tracks become craters to drive over which is not good for the vehicle unless of course you have a big truck or hummer or grader. Okay. So no. Nope, me myself and I are staying in.
I have to laugh right now as I think back over this week. Laughter is the best medicine. Being free from self-isolation, I can gad about. Funnily enough my gadding about was to and from my daughter’s place, picking up my granddaughter as my grandson is in school. Visiting my sister and getting a big hug. Yes a hug. You remember those….remnants of covid-19 DO NOT TOUCH theme.
But spending time with grandkids. Belly laughter. And my granddaughter’s antics this week as I had her a few times, she just made me laugh. So stubborn. I wonder where she gets that from? And exercise, well me and my stairs have become quite good friends. I do not know what the attraction is but my granddaughter loves the stairs. But not just going up and down them, nooooo noooo….she wants me to carry her Elmo, her Meow Meow, her Lambie and three large balls. I am not a juggler little one! LOL. In all that, there is her little hand reaching out to me….take my hand Rara as we go up the stairs and down the stairs. Not kidding.
She has such a penchant for playing with balls. Of course I love ball sports so if my 16-month old wants to play with different sized balls, well I am not going to argue. So I show her how to bounce, catch, dribble, kick and she in turn does the same in her own way. Belly laughter here I come. And when we go outside, we have to bring a ball to kick as we walk. However, like my dog Maggie May, her little ears and eyes get distracted quickly. The curiousness of little ones is spectacular and wondrous. Seeing the world through the eyes of a child, she will stop all of a sudden and call out ‘ aww aww’. I have to smile because I have been teaching her to listen and to see the birds….cannot miss the big black crows cawing constantly. And then we begin to walk again for a bit and then she stops….turns her little head….and says quite clearly “ball”. Well Rara go fetch. Yep that’s me, I do what I am told. Naturally the ball is way back behind us.
One thing I have to remember is that having a grandson and granddaughter who are ages a part, I need to find time for each of them. And do things separately. I went to kickboxing on Friday night as my grandson is quite involved in it. He wanted me to come so I can see how far he has come along. He has his yellow belt. Woohoo. Anyway my daughter, granddaughter and myself took him to his kickboxing. Wow, I am so proud. How he can move? Now I understand the moves he tries to make on my older body. Thankfully I am not that old grandson. I still have some moves. Nope cannot kick that high, nope I cannot fake as quickly, nope I cannot do a burpie (nor do I want to), nope I do no like to punch. As I begin to enjoy myself watching my grandson grow up before my eyes, I have to laugh because my granddaughter being there….not a good thing. For what do I get….her little hand reaching out as if to say, “come on Rara. We gotta move.” You cannot contain the minds of little ones. However I was there for my grandson. Not happening. Nope a grandma cannot choose….just be everywhere. I am straining my neck as it swivels back and forth between my grandson making his kickboxing moves and my granddaughter pulling me toward the stairs….awwwww!!! Life lesson….stay home. Hahaha.
Now I am in the midst of teaching my granddaughter some wee winter lessons. Like helping her know what snow not to eat. Yuck. And going carefully on slippery areas (she says the word ‘whoa’ alot). And its okay to have snow on your boots. And keep your hat on because it’s cold. And do not pull off the mittens. And no I am not picking you up to carry….you have two good feet. And yes I will pull you in the sled but keep your hands inside. And let’s dance and smile when walking. And no do not eat dirty snow from the red dirt. And no we are not going down the ditch. And no little one you do not need to get frustrated because the stick is frozen in the ground and you cannot get it. And yes we will go inside, to turn around, to go back outside, while we heat the outside, with the door wide open as you decide you want to go in or stay outside or WHAT DO YOU WANT. Did I say that out loud? LOL.
So today as it continues to rain I am going to enjoy my down time and maybe clean up. It takes me back to a time when teaching kindergarten and we would sing “Clean up, clean up, everybody clean up”. Fun fun fun. Good old days. So, I am going to go around and tidy up after the hurricane of grandkids. You gotta love them. Mind you my grandson, being older, and TALLER!! Holy mother of goodness he is getting tall and only 10-years old. Slow down, please. He has a more contained area of presence….drink, plate, book, remote, tablet, cozy pillow, blanket…left behind. Although sometimes he will be kind and pick up after himself. Love him.
But hurricane little one, now she is EVERYWHERE. Nothing is sacred. Her world to discover and no I will not complain. I just have to make sure its safe. And I also have to make sure I do a general clean up soon after departure because if I flake out (yes being a seasoned woman) and then get up in the middle of the night…my feet do not need a surprise. Anyway, what you do not think is a big deal can become a BIG deal. No rock unturned. In this case, no cupboard untouched, no nook and cranny undiscovered, no speck of dust uncovered. Baby girl sees, conquers, and then goes to the next thing. Oh to follow in the wake of a child. Hahaha. Don’t get me started on eating habits. It’s all good. When a child is born so is a grandmother. Yep.
So I welcome the rain today. Staying inside. Curling up with a good book, or for me my e-reader, blogging a bit, texting or talking with family, whatever comes my way. And yes cleaning. Thankful to have a belly full of laughter from this week, a song in my heart (On My Own – LOL), a hop in my step, and a treat or three. And it’s Sunday even, a day with the Lord. Can’t beat that.
There is a time for everything…Ecclesiates 3:4 “a time to weep, and a time to laugh; A time to mourn, and a time to dance.” And there is a time for staying in. Blessings.
Let us pray for those who are in need of our prayers today.
Karenpondering 