our little gentleman

i always wonder if the things we teach our kids actually ever penetrate their little brains. things like: using good manners, thinking of other people besides themselves, being kind to others, etc. i mean, they don't really listen when we ask them to stop fighting, pick up their room, sit down and eat their dinner...so why would we expect them to listen when we teach them important life lessons?

not too long ago we were sitting in the kitchen eating supper together. mr. husband had made a delicous caesar salad as part of our meal. we were all just eating and visiting when i happened to look over and saw captain adventure starting to stand up. (we practically have to chain them to the chairs at meal times to get them to stay in their seats and eat, so i was immediately irritated...but, something made me hold my tongue to see what he was doing.) i heard him saying to grandma, "can i help you with that grandma jingly keys?" my heart melted. he had been watching her try to use the pepper mill so she could have pepper on her salad and because of her arthritis, she was having a hard time turning the mill. he saw her struggling, thought it through and offered his help. it was the most thoughtful act of good will i have ever seen come from his little body.

so, i guess they really are paying attention to us...listening to our words...paying attention to our actions...taking it all in. cool.

emergency? i think not.

picture it...sicily...1921...

so, as you may or may not know, grandma jingly keys is living with us. (and when i say us, i mean my mom, dad, husband, 3 kids, and me.) before coming to live with us, she was living alone in an apartment and getting along just fine...cooking for herself, bathing herself, etc...

yesterday, everyone but grandma left the house. my parents were gone for a total of about 5 hours. hubby, the kids, and i were gone for what seemed like a week, but in reality was only about 7 1/2 hours. before we left, we made a list of everyone's cell numbers and the number of my other grandma who lives in town, grandma poo's dead. my mom then proceeded to tell her that these numbers were for emergencies and she and my dad would be back early in the afternoon. before they left, my mom even made her a sandwich, fruit, and a cup of soup and had it all ready in the fridge for GJK when she was ready for lunch. my mom asked GJK if she knew how to work the microwave to warm her soup, GJK replied yes. (i know, because i was there.)

ok...so several hours later, my mom called me and told me that in fact, grandma jingly keys did have an emergency. (my heart was in my throat at this point). mom said that GJK had to call grandma poo's dead because she needed her soup warmed up and couldn't figure out how to use the microwave. also, she was cold and wanted the fireplace on. (i'm sorry, what?! did i hear right? or did i just have a stroke?) i asked my mom if she sat down with GJK and explained that needing her soup warmed up and being cold did not qualify as emergencies. mom did, in fact, tell that to GJK...who said, "yes it was, i needed my soup".
really? her point of reference for emergencies is needing soup warmed up?

i don't even know what to say about this...except that i'm going to ride this one for a l-o-n-g time. in fact, i called grandma poo's dead this morning and said that i needed her to come over right away to put toothpaste on my toothbrush. i think she might have peed her pants she laughed so hard.

the wait is over

well, grandma jingly keys has officially moved in. things are going as well as can be expected so far. we're all going to have to adjust to 1. another person and 2. another person who has different needs than the rest of us. of course, captain adventure had adjusted himself right into gram's lap at 5:00 this morning. he came downstairs wearing nothing but a pull-up and said, "i so cold gamma jingly keys". so, she opened up her blanket and invited him in...he willingly accepted her offer. that's where mom found them when she came down at 6.

i hope gram doesn't mind that her every move is going to be watched and shared by 3 little ones. i think it's pretty cool.

waiting for grandma

when i consider my current living situation, i am reminded of the waltons. in the days of the waltons and other families like them, it was not uncommon for several generations to live together under the same roof. of course, in those times, nursing homes and assisted living apartments didn't exist, so the living arrangements were a natural progression of life. it was such a different time...two or three generations of women raising the children...grandpas, dads, and sons working together on the farm or at the mill...children at every stage of life living together under the same roof. they would scatter every morning...the children would go to school, the men would go to work, the women would start their housework or baking...and every afternoon, they would all return home and settle in for the night...preparing for supper, doing nighttime chores, completing homework...then they would all sit down together for supper. in the evening they didn't have 350 tv channels to choose from. they sat around and listened to the radio...or grandpa played the banjo...sometimes the women would pull out their knitting or needlepoint. it was a time to be together.
we (hubby, the kids and i) are living with my parents right now. we need a bigger house. we thought that the best way for us to sell our house would be to move out of it. so, my parents graciously offered for us to live with them. (well...maybe i graciously offered their house to us...but they never said no.) i'm sure we all trip other sometimes. i know our kids are loud. there are more dishes and laundry and more cooking and cleaning than before. but, it works. at least i think it does...we haven't gotten our pink slip yet. the kids love being with their grandparents. my parents love seeing their grandchildren when they wake up in the morning and snuggling with them before bedtime each night. i love having my kids and my parents in the same house.

recently my parents decided to ask grandma jingly keys to move in with us. after considering (for about five minutes) she accepted their invitation. so, for the past few weeks, we've been getting the house ready for her...french doors, new carpet, painting, rearranging the furniture, packing, moving...it has been really busy around here. i have to say that i am really looking forward to her living here. what a neat experience for our kids to have...living in the same house as their parents, grandparents, and great-grandma. i think its amazing. i am so excited for them.

we still have quite a list of things that need to be done before she can move in. every day, we do a little more. i hope it will be soon. until then, we'll be waiting for grandma.

grandma's kitchen table

at grandma jingly keys' house, memories were made by the minute. some of my best memories of her revolve around her kitchen table. first, let me describe the table...round and big...it was probably close to six feet in diameter...off white with charming 1970s-ish gold flecks. when there were family parties, we'd crowd around the table elbow to elbow and eat (faygo chicken, corn, crockpot o'mashed potatoes, and, of course, gram's delicious cookies or texas sheet cake). we had a lot of family meals and parties there.

my earliest recollections are of her making oatmeal cookies and caramel corn at that table. when i close my eyes i can still smell her kitchen on those days. sometimes i would help her count cups of sugar and oats as she measured for her quadruple batches of cookies. when i was old enough, she would let me stir the boiling hot caramel for the caramel corn. her home is where i learned to bake.

we would chit-chat as we worked. she used to tell me stories from her childhood. i'd tell her about school and my friends. sometimes we'd talk about what was happening on her shows (ryan's hope and AMC). once in a while, she'd pour me a small glass of tab. i was in heaven!

sometimes, she'd do office work for grandpa's business at that table. i'd sit with her and "work" too...typing on her typewriter, writing letters, and sometimes coloring.

i can remember her changing the babies' diapers on that kitchen talble. she'd lay a bath towel down, get a warm wet washcloth (no wipes back then) and get to business.

gram and grandpa certainly got their money's worth out of that gold-flecked table. that's the kind of kitchen table i want to have.