This moment will never come again

I babysit my three great-grandsons three times a week. It has become a battle to get the middle one, almost five-years-old to nap. Charlie, the little guy, wears himself out and yells if his sleep is interrupted.

 "ALEX, leave me alone!" 

Alex retracts his arm from the pillow that separates them and stops poking him for a while. It is a battle royal some days. But on this day I felt so blessed. Big brother Liam, had stitches in his hand and was bored with nothing to do. 

When he came into the bedroom where I was refereeing, I motioned for him to lie down. Then I went from one to the other, tickling arms, rubbing foreheads, soothing my sweeties to sleep. Note that each has his own favorite blankie and stuffy. Liam has had this pig since he was a baby. Sometimes, an eight year old with a boo-boo needs a lovey too.  CLICK ON PHOTO

This image, captured on film, is ingrained in my mind. What a blessed moment. One I doubt will ever happen again. I stood at the end of the bed and prayed for each of them and thanked God for these three independent, smart and healthy little wise guys. 

 

On the go again...STILL

I have tried to live up to my reputation of being the most fun great-grandma on earth, or at least in town. I am babysitting (as seated) eight-year-old Liam, three-year-old Charlie, and four-year-old Alex, three days per week this summer. I like summer, the great outdoors, and I don't mind the heat. We start out early and end up back home at noon for lunch and naps. 

I took them to Bee Tree Park in far South St. Louis County. They played at the playground for an hour, and then I told them we were taking a hike so I could show them something special. Charlie was all for it. Alex whined, and Liam refused to get out of the car until I told him our hike was fifty yards ahead in the tree line.

One by one they stood in awe on the bluffs, with mouths agape at the sight of the mighty Mississippi River. I explained it was a barge and boat route from Minnesota to New Orleans and empties into the Gulf of Mexico, which we call the ocean.
 

They climbed up on the fence at the overlook and observed that they were above tree tops.

Liam said, "I see a farm across the river."

Alex said, "I see a boat coming."

Charlie said, "WOW! I SEE CALIFORNIA!

Friday, I discovered a free indoor pool for me and the boys, and we spent three hours splishing and splashing.

I am blessed to be young at heart, still have energy, stamina, and the desire to "teach" my little  guys.

Liam said he thought this would be the worst summer of his life spending his school break with the littles and me, but each day he says, "This has been my most best day ever!"

OH NO! HE SLIPPED ON AN ICE CUBE AND FELL ON THE 4TH OF JULY. CUT HIS PALM ON A BROKEN GLASS. HE HAS FOUR STITCHES AND CAN'T GET HIS HAND WET FOR 10 DAYS. HE'S GOING TO HAVE TO WAIT FOR MORE BEST DAYS EVER.

Regardless of the weather, make this your most best day ever, too. Read a book, write something, spend time in nature, engage in an activity that makes you feel great. 

Tell me about it, won't you?

Are YOU racing to the finish line?

Riding high! 

Liam and Alex spent time with their paternal great grandparents' on their farm. I took Charlie to my former school's parish picnic. He squealed when he saw the kiddie rides. "Nana, look! I want to ride that yellow and orange Jeep!" 

And ride he did (several times)! That smile stayed on his face the entire time. When the ride started and the car began moving, he spun that steering wheel back and forth. The ride functions kept getting better. The car elevated, and when it started jerking up and down, left and right he thought he was jumping hills. If you could hear his squeals. 

If you're a published writer, you probably have experienced this sort of joy, too. What a thrill to receive an acceptance on an essay, article, or poem you've submitted. 

I felt like Charlie when I received another acceptance from Chicken Soup for the Soul books for the upcoming book, Miracles and the Unexplainable, on sale September 13th. (Book 33 for me.)

In the writing world, along with elation comes deflation. A rejection can bring you down and make you feel like you're limping to a stop on a flat tire. It's natural to feel disappointment. 

Don't let all four tires go flat and bring you to a complete halt. It's easy to say, "That's it. I'm not writing anymore!"

Rest if you must. Take a break from writing, but never give up. Sometimes you race along at high speed submitting and receiving acceptances. Other times you drive through the desert of dry spells.

Keep writing and submitting your work. When you do receive an acceptance you'll feel like Charlie leaping hurdles. 

I wish you well in your writing endeavors. If you are not a writer, try jotting down a memory and build upon that over the course of a week. You will have a slice-of-life vignette, a memory that someone in your family may cherish someday. 

Write on!

 
 

Kings of the stump

Every little boy should have a carefree childhood where he can hop, skip, jump, and climb outdoors.

I thought this was the cutest picture of  Alex and Charlie and sent it to their mom. First thing she replied was, "Where are his shoes?"

Then I explained that Charlie's new shoes rubbed a blister on his instep. I allowed him to walk the trail in his socks. When we arrived at the playground, I rummaged through my purse for a bandaid. Had to use a paper thin, white, panty liner. Charlie shouted, ""Wow! That is the biggest bandaid I ever did see." All eyes on Charlie and me.

The picture below is what summer should be like for every three and four year old.

 Today I asked if they liked pickles. They said they did. I put a dill pickle slice on their plates and had them help me make tuna salad. They saw me empty the tuna into a bowl and shouted, "Ewww! We are not eating cat food!"

After some convincing, and a chocolate bribe, they each ate half a sandwich and liked it! I was published in a Parent's Magazine book years ago: tips to get kids to eat. 

Serve sloppy Joes or tuna salad in a mini ice cream cone. Make it unique, let them help, and they will usually eat.

Spontaneity

 Liam, Alex, and Charlie are rambunctious, busy boys. I have a variety of age-appropriate, diverse activities and games planned for them twice a week when I babysit. Fridays are park/splash pad/ swimming days. Public pools cannot get enough life guards, so we will be using the collapsible kiddie pool more than we'd like this summer. 

Sometimes I have to be spontaneous and come up with something off the cuff. This was one of those moments. After they'd successfully and cooperatively built a four room fort frame indoors with those sticks and balls, these were left overs. I made sure the sticks were secured into the holes in the hard balls to make putters, and I took a bucket of ping pong balls outside.

There is a sewer grate in our long driveway. Their goal was to land in the grate. Alex was the champ. Liam broke a few balls with his strength, and Charlie pounded and pummeled the hard solid plastic balls and concrete diligently trying to make contact. They had half an hour of exercise, fun and laughter.

Spontaneity is important in this world. Out-of-the-box thinkers take a round-about way to achieve the same goals as others. My husband says I am the only person he knows who can destroy one good thing to make another. Well, yeah...

My life this summer

I have lived a long and healthy life, so far. I have been blessed immensely with family, friends, a job I loved right up until the end. And now in my later years, I am so happy to be a great grandma to these three little adventurers. Alex is 4, Liam is going to be 8 next week, and Charlie is 3. They bring me so much happiness, and wear me out. I am teaching the littles and having summer fun with all of them.

These guys love the great outdoors. I do, too. I like to sit on the patio, (almost always a breeze) and read a book. 

Liam thought he would be bored at our house, but he said his first week with his brothers has been more fun than he could imagine. I led a summer day camp for school age kids for 15 years. He is amazed at how 'fun" I am and how many good ideas and games I come up with. LOL 

I believe a little dirt never hurt. Kids need to use their entire body and all their senses to explore and learn. We discovered a wonderful playground with a splash pad for all of the boys. That will be our Friday go to. If it were up to them, they would be there everyday. 

Yes, I get tired and stressed, but I am blessed. Today I am celebrating my 73 rd birthday. The boys will be celebrating their birthdays in June, July, and August. It is going to be a wild summer. I am fortunate to have the stamina, mind, and good health to handle these tigers. 

The littles are "reading." I placed a picture of a pig and pie on a paper. Then below the pics I wrote: The pig ate a pie. They touch and read. Of course they are reading the pictures (rebus reading) but they are very proud of themselves and interested in how letters make soumds and sounds create words. Literacy is so important.

Thank you for your visits to my blog. have a great week.

Long hot summer

 Life sure has a lot of big scaries!

Climate change, mass killings, hurricanes, forest fires, war ...

But three-year-old Charlie is not afraid. I told him not to ride his bike past the sewer in the

driveway. He declared, "Don't worry, Nana, if somebody tries to get me and sqoosh me, I'll squirt 'em!"

His year younger brother, Alex, took his Dawn dishwashing bottle (filled with water) and said, "This is my diesel fuel," and he gassed up his bike. Gas prices, talk about a fright!

Charlie had to use the bathroom and took off quickly. He came back looking dejected and said, "I didn't have to go. I just had gasoline."

I have all three boys, three times a week this summer. Here they are finger painting with shaving cream. Lucky for them I taught PreK for four decades, and for 15 years I taught summer day camp, 5-10 year olds. Liam is seven and impressed by my games with candy prizes. I have lots of ideas and tricks up my sleeve. It is going to be a long hot summer.