Just What the Doctor Ordered

I happily kept my 3-year-old grandbug for a bit yesterday to give her mama a little break.

Her visit was just what I needed.

In the few hours we were together she and I built a castle out of Legos. We watered the parched and yellowed pea plants in the weedy raised bed. She 'painted' the old weathered fence by spraying it with the garden hose. And I packed her a snack for the road....

Before our walk she helped me count quarters into dollars. (Me: "Do you know what a quarter is?" She: "Yes. It's a circle with a picture on it.") Then I loaded her into the stroller and the two of us headed off together to see a neighbor's chickens before traveling on into town for some lunch.

On our way we passed a garage sale in progress, and there on the curb was an old-fashioned wooden school desk. Avery spied it immediately and craned her neck to study it as we passed. "Oooooh," she said. "Gramma, I sure like that big kids' chair!" I did, too. And I spent the rest of our walk figuring out how I could possibly buy it and where to put it if I did....

I bought her a burger and fries and an orange drink with the quarters we'd counted, and she curled up in a booth and stirred her ketchup with one finger. I helped myself to her fries.

"Gramma!" she scolded, her brows knit together. "You ate one of my fries. You're supposed to say, 'please, can I have a fry.'"

I said, "Oh, I see. Please, can I have a fry?"

Instant cheer. "Sure, Gramma; you can have TWO fries! Here, I'll dip them in ketchup for you!" So generous. :)

We took a different way home, primarily to avoid the garage sale. (I didn't have the heart to pass the desk again and see her longing for it....) Her mama was waiting for us when we arrived. I'd hardly unbuckled her from the stroller and accompanied her inside before the poor thing melted down spectacularly. I said, "Uh-oh, I think someone's tired." And she said, dramatically, "Gramma, I am SOOOOO tired!!" 

And apparently I was, too. Because after she left I went inside and crashed. I slept until dark! And there was no reason for it. It wasn't like we'd spent those hours climbing trees or running races. I think I was just exhausted from the effort of being In The Moment. 

I wish sometimes that my brain was a DVR and that every time I'm with my grandchildren I could just press the 'rec' button and make each visit into a memory movie. Wouldn't that be the best?? I could just relax then, knowing that it would all be there for me to replay over and over again.... Maybe then our visits wouldn't tire me out so much....

Anyway, when I woke, I realized I'd wasted an entire afternoon sleeping when I could have been working. And then I corrected myself: no part of my day was a waste.

It was all dipped in holy gold.
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