Birthday Weekend

 

I had no idea the girls (my baby grands)  were coming over. I was just humming along, doing a little housecleaning, listening to a little music when my daughter, with the birthday coming up the next day called and asked if we would keep them overnight. Of course we would! Immediately I went into overdrive. They would be here in two hours.  Meanwhile there were last minute chores to finish up. Menus to be made, sleeping arrangements to be arranged and a trip to the store for groceries and craft items. Because, like, YES, of course there was going to be crafts or art of some kind in the mix. I had gone to Dollar General right after Christmas and found some wooden nutcrackers for a buck that were just itching to be painted by these two granddaughters of mine. I couldn't wait. 

Ally and I got all the things done that needed doing before the grands arrived. I even had a minute or two to sit before the doorbell rang and catch my breath. 

And then they were here. Three year old Claire and five year old Arya, happy to be at Grandma and Grandpa's house, and hungry. And I was ready for them. Soon we were all sitting around the table enjoying salad. Well...Arya was enjoying salad. Not so much Claire or the rest of us. I have never seen anyone eat salad like Arya. She loves it. Last time she was here she had three bowls of it. But I digress. 

Salad, yogurt with strawberries and chicken strips from the air fryer. During dinner I mentioned that I had some nutcrackers to paint. Arya was all for that. Now? She asked. Tomorrow, I said. After church. She was very excited about this, I could tell. If there is one thing Arya loves almost as much as salad, it's painting. When she was just two, and I was babysitting while Mom and Dad worked, we would sometimes have painting time in the afternoon. She is a natural. It makes me very happy to pass down the love of art to my granddaughters. I love that they love it. 

 After dinner we piled up to the bedroom where all the toys are kept in the closet for them. We dragged out the trains, and the blocks. All the play food for the play kitchen. Before long the floor was strewn with toys. The Mr.'s computer was blaring. Occasionally the dog would bark. Did I mention it was a bit on the loud side?  Finally it was time to blow up the air mattress. The girls always take a great deal of interest in this. We watched it "grow" as the air blew it up from a small square to a giant rectangle. The girls helped me put the sheets on and when the bed was made, they climbed in. I didn't tell them it was bedtime, they just climbed in, and Arya, who was starting to develop a little cold, fell immediately asleep. Claire and I curled up in the recliner and looked at pictures on my phone until her little eyes began to droop. I laid her in bed and went to take the dog out one last time for the night. When I got back five minutes later, she was out cold. 

I climbed into bed and dozed off...for maybe twenty minutes. And then Arya was awake. Her nose was stopped up and she was disoriented. She wanted to sleep with Grandma. I let her climb in next to me and she fell asleep, but fitfully. She was like a little tornado in the bed, spinning this way and spinning that way. Finally at two or three, I got out of my bed and into her place next to little Claire and dozed off...for about twenty minutes, before Arya realized I wasn't there. She came and got me and brought me back to my bed. By the time morning arrived I was more tired than I remembered being all year. The Mr. had not slept either, and with Arya's cold coming on, we decided church was a no go, which just killed me. I had really been looking forward to that, but it just wasn't to be, not this time. 

Arya, of course, was the first one up in the morning. FOUR. thirty. She laid in her bed for a little bit, but as soon as it was light, she was up and asking about those nutcrackers. In a little while, I told her. Let's have breakfast first. So we went downstairs and rustled up some waffles with syrup and cherry jelly and Little Smokies and the ever present yogurt, which we seem to have with every meal these days. We brought it all upstairs to eat at the table in the office, so Grandpa could sleep a little. And then of course, the time came for the nutcrackers. But first I needed something to dress the girls in. I didn't have paint smocks. I didn't want them painting in their new nightgowns. I didn't want them to paint in their clothes. I had just the thing. The Mr. has a ton of white t shirts in his dresser drawer, leftovers from his working days. These days he is retired but I haven't cleared them from the drawer. They would be perfect! So I grabbed a couple and put them on the girls. I was tickled when I overheard Arya call them "painting dresses". How perfect is that? I pinned up their long hair with hair clips, to avoid getting paint in it, and put some Narnia music that was perfect to paint to on the computer. And we painted. And there might have been some dancing. There was definitely laughing. 

They looked like little angels in their white "painting dresses". 

I am so proud of my "Baby Grands". They are growing up. Arya got an award at school for her counting. And Claire is starting to read sight words. I love it, because we can connect on a deeper level, now that their understanding of things is growing, although I miss them being babies. It's nice being able to have a real conversation with them. 

After we painted and cleaned up the paints we decided to make breakfast for Grandpa. Back downstairs we went. I popped in two waffles for the Mr. and then got out some sausages and the butter. I went to push the button down to get the waffles toasting...and one was missing! I was thoroughly confused. I knew I put two in...but if I did, where did it go? I looked around, I asked the girls. Claire said I did it. I looked at her and her proximity to the countertop, which was quite a bit higher than her, and dismissed her statement. Where did it go? Claire said it again, and then she laughed and produced a half eaten frozen waffle! She pranked me! She had me looking for that waffle, and she had it all along. I put what was left in the toaster for her and we had a good laugh. 

We played with the toys for awhile and I started doing a soft clean up. I knew Mom was coming soon and so I started picking up the discarded play things. Got all the blocks put back in the tin they live in. Picked up most of the play food. We had some ice cream. Then Mom was on the way and I really started picking up the toys and gathering their belongings and getting them ready to go home. 

Mom came and oohed and ahhed over all the things we painted. We got the girls shoes and socks on, and as fast as they arrived, they were gone. 

I came back inside and the house felt so empty. 

I washed a few dishes and picked up the remaining toys and put them away til next time. The quiet was absolutely eerie. Ally wasn't home, so it was just me and the Mr. I was restless. Went into the office where we had earlier painted. Walked back into the now spotless bedroom. Didn't know what to do with myself. I knew the feeling would eventually pass. It wasn't the first time I had felt it. But it was odd. I was happy, but I felt empty. The only thing I could equate it to was that feeling you always get when company you love and wish could stay forever has gone home. 

I made us some dinner. I talked to God while I cooked, as I always do in our running dialogue. He talks to me, too, sometimes, if I'm listening. 

Tonight it's me doing the talking. I am so thankful, Lord. You have enriched my life in so many ways, I just literally do not want for anything. Thank you for my family, Lord, and bless these little girls, and my daughter on her birthday. What a marvelous day you have given us. 

Tomorrow I will be fifty five. I don't think I have ever been happier.