It Was The Best and The Worst

Today's high temperature was: 31 degrees

Sunny all day

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Pammie got my day started at 8:15 a.m.  She called to say she had arranged it so I could take Elise out for supper tonight.  Elise turned 10 yesterday.  I am so thankful that Pammie baby sits Jen's kids.  She can work these meetings out--seeings as how Jen still will not speak to me.

Then, I heard about the awful mud slide in Washington state and I worried about Dianne, who lives there.  Dianne, I hope you are safe and that you didn't know of anyone impacted by this tragedy.  They say the residents of that small town were worried about a mud slide three weeks ago.  Apparently the "authorities" kept telling them there was nothing to worry about.  I just cannot imagine.  A whole part of a mountain, letting go and covering your home in earth and sweeping it away.

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A mysterious sort of mating game I think.

She was just enjoying a bit of early morning, warm sunshine...

...and he came flying in to a branch below her             

          so she flew to a branch just above him......

...and then...she flew away                                       

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Around 4:00, Pammie came and I got to see all the kids and Pammie took a picture of Elise and me.  I like to get a picture on their birthdays to see how tall they are getting--compared to Mimi.  I am 5'11".  Elise just turned 10--looks like she is going to be as tall as Mimi.

She has changed so much since November, when I last saw her.  She isn't a little girl anymore :-(

She told me right up front, "Mimi, I don't want you to buy me a birthday present.  I have so much stuff and I don't need anymore.  I just want us to go out to supper and talk."

I had to go to Michael's first and I thought perhaps, as we looked through the kids craft things that she might change her mind, but she didn't.  Then we went to Red Robin, her favorite place, and man---did we talk!!!

She is such a delight and so sweet and courteous.  She had a sleepover for her birthday--12 girls!! She didn't want to hurt any of the girls feelings in her class, so she invited them all and all of them came.  

"It wasn't such a good idea," she said.  "One of the girls...isn't a close friend...she gets kind of wild.  I thought at one time she was going to break my bed and she did kind of tear up my bedroom.  She threw stuff all over the place.  A couple of girls got mad at each other.   Oh...I just don't know."

"Sounds like it was kind of hectic?"

"Yeah!  I felt like I was supervising a bunch of little kids!!!  A referee or something.  Next year I am only having my three best friends!"

We talked about religion, we talked about movies and TV shows.  We talked about her brothers (so annoying). We talked about her jump rope classes.  We talked about Girl Scouts.  We talked about school.  We talked about college and where she wants to go and what she wants to study.  She isn't sure and she said, "I don't have to worry about that right now.  I have a lot of time to make up my mind."

We talked about the trip she is taking in Aruba.  She is going with her Daddy and Grandpa to Aruba.  She has heard there are sharks in that area, and snakes and it can get real windy and she is a bit worried about that.  "I just would like to be old enough to walk the beach looking for shells, and go as far as I wanted."

"You aren't old enough for that  yet.  There are bad people around that try and kidnap girls--especially in a foreign place.  You have to be very careful."

" I know.  That's why Dad is going.  We don't trust Grandpa to watch me.  The last time we went to the ocean, he was suppose to be watching me and he was sitting on the beach, reading a magazine and I got caught in the undertow."

<first I had heard of that!  EGAD!>

"Oh my gosh!  Were you scared?'"

"Kind of.  There was another Dad there with his kids and he got me out.  When Andrew went to Germany with Grandpa, Grandpa took him to a bar with some old guys.  They stayed a long time and Andrew got up to go to the bathroom and when he came back, Grandpa and the guys were gone.  Andrew had to walk back to the hotel all my himself."

<and...they don't trust me?>


When I got my money out to pay the bill ($25.95 for a kids meal and my hamburger), I pressed a ten dollar bill in her hand--she didn't want to accept it, but I said, "Well, I would feel really bad if I didn't give you some kind of gift for your birthday."

"Yes...but...you bought me supper and I know how expensive this place is."

"Yes---but, you just tuck that away and maybe someday, you will see something you want and guess what?  You will know you have the money tucked away to get it.  YAY!"

On the way home, she thanked me about half a dozen times.  Said how much fun she had, just the two of us.  Then she hugged me and said, "I love you, Gramma."

"I love you too, Sweetheart."

She hopped out of the car, walked up on the porch, opened the front door, turned and waved and....I drove home, crying so hard I could barely see to drive!!

I kept saying over and over, "Thank you, God.  I am so grateful for being with Elise."  But...I just want to be able to see my littlest grand babes whenever I can--not just once a year near their birthdays!!  This makes me so sad!!
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I got in the house and sat for awhile.  Then I calmed down and smiled because, I really am grateful that I get to see them at all.  I put some shredded up paper and some dryer lint out on the bushes for the birds to use for their nest building.  By the looks of how those Robins acted this morning--baby birds will be in the offing and Mommy and Daddy need to build a home for them.
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   Buddy wants to know when I'm going to get him some supper

Maggie just wants to play and grab the cord on the camera