Dreaming...goals and aspirations

IKEA is a home furnishing store. The displays are set up to portray home living spaces: kitchens, bedrooms, living rooms etc. The furniture manufacturer is a Swedish company. 

This giagntic store is famous for serving comfort food; especially notable are the Swedish meatballs. 

Granddaughter Ashley, mother to Liam, Alex, and Charlie called and asked me to accompany her and the boys for lunch and to browse.  

Charlie just turned eight, and he waltzed right into a kitchen and selected a skillet with a photo of stir fry in it. He grabbed a spoon, chose a bowl, and began serving his mother. He said, "Wow! I never imagined this place would be so fun. I am a chef."

Alex, nine, spied a computer set up and office area. I heard him say to Charlie, "I would stop fighting with you and even share a virtual reality head set for our video games if we got this furniture. Also I want a new bed. No more bunk beds." They were negotiating ideas for their new "apartment."

Charlie replied, "Yeah, but let's get a real computer. This keyboard is just cardboard."

Liam, forever the dreamer and goal setting kid, said, "I would like this for my apartment when I move out." He stretched out and imagined his life.

 I told him he already has an apartment, his own large bedroom in the lower level of their home, which once was a guest suite complete with kitchen/bath and living area. I suggested he stay at home as long as possible before rushing to move out.

At age 12, he claims he is more than half way to being an adult.

"Yeah, Nana, you're right. I'll probably stay home until I finish school and make my first half a million. I'll stay home until I'm 23 or 26, and then I'll move out. make my next half million." Dream big my great grandson, because you ARE a great kid.

Nothing wrong with dreaming. On the way home, Charlie talked on and on about Ikea.

"This was the most fun day ever! I want to come back and play here."

 And to think, there was no admission fee, and he thought it was a hands-on play place. Doesn't take much when you use your imagination.

When I directed a summer camp years ago, I set up the LARGE public school lunch room into four areas,with four teachers: a home living center, science center for hands on science activities. Another for arts and crafts, and the 4th area was for literacy and story telling/writing and acting out our own plays. (my area.)

The 80 students (4-11 year olds) were divided into four age groups that rotated. The third age group, 8 and 9 year olds enjoyed the home living and  imaginative play area more than the other groups. 

They played dress up and  did problem solving, and really PLAYED. 

 

My theory was that they missed a stage of development because they were forced to sit at desks and do school work when they still needed to move, play, and use their imagination to create.  

History Repeats Itself

 

We babysat great-grandson Jackson overnight last weekend and had so much fun. He loved the swimming pool and dozens of plastic fishies. But what he really liked was...

splashing water on me and making me squeal. I yeled, "No! No! No!" and shook my hair, which made him giggle loud and long. Love those belly laughs.

Jackson is Paw-Paw Bill's buddy,or maybe I should say partner in crime, as Bill egged him on, much to the delight of both of them.

Kyle and Ashley, our first grandchildren are 33 and almost 37. 

Kyle and Abby are Jackson's parents.

Ashley and Justin are Liam's, Alex's, and Charlie's parents. 

We feel so blessed to have been a huge part of their lives and now their childrens'. 

One of Kyle's and Ashley's favorite childhood memories is helping Paw Paw pic tomatoes every summer from the time they could toddle. The torch has been passed.

One year when they were three and seven, Bill had
ankle surgery and could not prepare his garden in spring. Kyle and Ashley asked if they could dig in the dirt, so we gave them each a huge serving spoon and sent them outdoors. 

They came inside and ran back out several times. An hour later they came in beaming, "Come out, PawPaw Bill; we planted your garden for you." They'd discovered a shopping bag filled with artificial flowers that I'd intended to use at preschool for crafts.

We looked out at the backyard plot of barren soil. It looked like a crazy quilt of every variety of fake flowers you can imagine. One of our favorite memories! 

When Ashley saw the picture of  Jackson as the next harvester helping Paw Paw, she texted me. 

"If Kyle did not shed a tear at this picture, tell him I will punch him and MAKE him cry." LOL

Kyle replied, "Tell her to hold off on the punch. I might be a farmer with a tough exterior, but I am not a robot." LOL

Then he sent the most heartfelt and loving thank you for being the best Nana. I told  him we felt blessed to be able to do it all again. I sent pictures of baby Jack looking at his scrap book with me, working puzzles, playing choo-choo with Paw-Paw using the same Fisher Price train he and Ashley played with, and also of Jackson painting with shaving cream on the back storm door window, then handing Paw-Paw a big handful of shaving cream! 

Kyle said, "We are blessed to have you and Gramps. You are the nana every kid wants and deserves. We are so glad you are OURS!" 

Free flowing tears of love and gratitude. No wonder my nose is stuffy.

Shape Up!

 Check it out if you want a chuckle. My latest story is on line and in print in Colorado. 

You can read it at PrairieTimes.com

Click on the current issue and scroll down to page 7. I hope you enjoy reading about my attempt to shape up.

Single, double almost a triple!

 We went to Arby's for lunch. Ordered a market fresh turkey, cheese and bacon on whole grain, with curly fries. Normally my honey and I split. Gone are the days when we could each eat an entire sandwich.

Unwrapped the sandwich and it was a Reuben. Took it back and they said to keep it and eat it. They would prepare our order correctly and bring it to us.

The big guy munched. Half way through, the sandwich preparer, an older woman brought the correct sandwich to our table. As we were finishing up, the counter person, a very polite and friendly older man brought another turkey sandwich and apologized for not getting to us sooner. 

We told him we received our replaced sandwich already. He was ready to say, "Keep it! Eat it!" But he saw me going to protest, and said, "Well okay then. I will take care of it."

I hope he ate it and didn't throw it away. 

Odds and Ends, some more odd than others

 We went to visit baby Jackson yesterday. He is at a darling age, 20 months. His little brain is always going. It is amazing how he can figure things out. 

He said, "Paw Paw" much to Bill's delight. And he giggled when we chased him. He really is a joy and we feel blessed to be able to spend time with him. 

On our way home we stopped at Taco Bell. We were the only eat-in customers. The highschool-age young man and woman gave us our orders, then grabbed electric scooters they had stashed under a booth and LEFT. Customers came in, called for counter service, used the kiosk, but got no reply. Bill and I saw those two kids zooming across the street and riding on a busy parking lot for about ten minutes. Then they returned and said to the waiting customers, "Oh, nobody here? We can help you."

HELLO! 

I am decades past hot flashes, and fortunately, I went through the symptoms in less than six months. But today I was doing a crossword puzzle when I felt as if I was boiling from the inside out. Perspiration dripped from my brow, and then I had a full blown roaster.

My granddaughter texted me, "I just had the worst hot flash of my life. I had to take a shower." 

Enough of these intuned sympathy symptoms!

Down for the count

 I got stuck. Yes, stuck!

No, my skin was not pierced in any way, by any object. 

I got stuck in a sitting position on the bathroom floor, after tightening the plastic nut or bolt or maybe both on the toilet seat which shifts while a sitter is sitting. It is annoying!

So while I was on the floor, I grabbed the Clorox Wipes and scrubbed the tile floor, the base of the tub and commode, and while I was on a roll, I decided to wipe the pink wall tiles circa 1950
underneath the sink. 

Proud of my spiffy clean powder room, I tried to stand up to observe and take it all in. But I was all stuck on the floor and couldn't move up, down, or even turn around. It is a small 5'x5' floor space bathroom. And getting up on my knees was impossible. 

I yelled for the big guy, but when he came to my aid, all he could do was laugh, and laugh, and laugh.

He tugged my arm until it was almost out of socket.

He told me to roll onto my left side and grab the tub. I rolled onto that hunk of metal I refer to as my metal hippy and yelped. It took us five minutes or more to position me with one leg back, one tucked under... plus a size twelve shoe "jack" under my wide carriage to get me up off that floor high enough to reach a bathtub grab bar.

My high school friend, Pat, moved away. We talked on the phone the other day. She asked when I decided I was old. I told her I know I am old, but I don't think I'm old, because I am mobile and in pretty good health. I get around and don't take prescriptions.

Well Pat, as of today...I consider myself old!

Older-than-me-Chuckles is having his hey day everytime I walk past him. I told him, "You just wait!" His half bath is half the size of mine!

In Our City There is an Unbelievable Museum

What a remarkable, fun, interesting place to explore. The late Bob Cassily was a visonary and artist who built an architectual playground. It features tunnels, a ten story spiral slide, and climbing structures for all ages. There is an insectarium dedicated to my son-in law, George Diehl, who donated his collections when he retired from the City Museum. There is an aquarium, a live circus performance, a small train to ride, an antique Merry Go 'Round, and so much more. 

 

Ever-evolving and changing exhibits. The greatest attractions are on the roof, where there is a school bus and airplane welded, teetering off the edge, that kids can enter. So many steep slides and screen- encased adult sized (hamspter-like) tunnels to climb through high up in the open air...yes in the sky!

Click on the pictures to enlarge.

Great grandsons, Liam, Alex, and Charlie had no idea what to expect, but soon discoverd so many areas and unbelievable attractions where they could walk through a giant whale, climb under the floor in a tunnel with port holes above in the floor, so adults could see their children as they slithered to the belly of the whale across the room.   

Liam liked running on this centrifuge ( I think that is what it's called). It reminded me of those gadgets where you donate coins and watch them spin all the way to the drop off. I imagine that one time shoes barreled down there. Who knows?

No, these three explorers were not under water in the auarium as Alex's pose demonstrates.

 Caves and tree roots to climb through, steep slides to drop down at "a million miles an hour."

The world's largest pencil and a retro arcade that featured pin ball machines, Pac Man and Frogger, and air hockey games. The boys could hardly stand still long enough to play there. They were bodies in motion. Swinging on ropes, jumping, leaping...

The two oldest wanted to go on the roof, which we did not purchase tickets for, because Charlie announced loudly and emphatically he was NOT going up there or sliding, climbing, or dangling from a school bus. However by the time we left, he wanted to do everything. Too late.

They had such a wonderful time. I am certain this is a memory that will last a lifetime. They asked if I could start saving money for the next time. LOL.

The City Museum is for "kids" people of all ages.  Poor Charlie developed strep throat as a result of being around so many people (germs), but his antibiotic is knocking it. What an adventure!

Oh, did I participate? No, I observed, and if you think it is easy watching three boys going in all directions, it was alarming. But I can always depend on Liam, who just turned 12. He told me he is more than half way to being an adult. He corraled his brothers and checked in with me as I sat on boulders, granite piers, machinery etc that once served different purposes. That place was jam packed.