Wet Velvet

I read this really great blog post recently and I just really agreed with the mom.

Don't Carpe Diem

www.huffingtonpost.com

Parenting is hard and yet we keep doing it. It is a difficult climb that you look back on with both frustration, failure, and humiliation and joy, pride, and hilarity. Even as a Grandma, I am still climbing that mountain. And because of that I feel I can share this story.

It's scary and messy, and after a couple weeks even a little funny. But like all the other spikey outcroppings you have to get over on your way up the mountain, you just keep going.

It's about my cute granddaughter, Kelly. I LOVE HER. She is absolutely adorable. And we are the best of friends. We like the same toys and scary movies. I love her sparkly shoes and her tutus and wish I could find them in my size.

She's quirky!

Dramatic!

Imaginative!

Helpful!

She's 3.

I left her alone in the living room, watching a movie on the iPad and playing

with her own toys. I didn't think I had left her there long when she came to me saying, "I have just gotten marker all over me." She had marker on her arms and ankles, feet, and toes.

I jumped up and ran into the living room. This is what I found:

I just stood there without a clue as to what to do. I called for help. Rich and Harry came running. I was crying a little. This sofa belonged to a great aunt of my father's and was given to my parents and then to me. I was really glad my mom was not here to see it. (I felt a little like the day my 2yr old daughter had peed in a velvet chair at my mom's.) Anyway...

I wished I'd just flipped the cushions and left it. But maybe out of fear of my mother, I felt I had to try to clean it up. Do you know what happens when velvet gets wet?

(By the way- do you see the little happy face in the corner?)

I wasn't as worried about my iPad. I'd had one of those expensive shields put on it- thank goodness! It took a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser (what an amazing invention) but I got it clean.

Harry took Kelly upstairs to give her a bath. She went calmly and enjoyed splashing Harry as he scrubbed her clean. I congratulate myself for not screaming at her or spanking her- 2 things I'm sure I did often as a young mom. (See? Experience is a good thing.)

I spent a night really upset. And old wet velvet is SMELLY!

Kelly stayed with Sissy (Sandi) the next day. And you know what? I missed her. A lot.

The next day Kelly came running in with the cutest "I'm sorry" card (colored with markers of course).

And the best "I'm sorry" present.

I climbed over that spike on the mountain and kept going, hugging, tickling, and loving Baby Kelly all the way!

P.S. On Wednesday we went out and bought Color Wonder markers and paper.

The Third Shoe

THE FIRST SHOE

The motor in the pool pump blew. I really thought my world would end. The pool turned green...GREEN! If this had happened in October it wouldn't have bothered me, but in the Spring? All winter I dream about floating in the pool. It's what keeps me from going mad during the long, ugly, rainy days of Winter. Nightmares of swampy swims kept me awake along with thinking about how much it could cost to fix?...Well...it's just the First Shoe.


THE SECOND SHOE

10 o'clock at night the phone rings. It's Sabrina. She and Sandi have been in a car accident in a round-about. As I'm trying to get my clothes on, I'm praying that they are alright and what do I do if they aren't. They weren't hurt. But the car was another matter. They were driving my PT. The driver's side was totally bashed in. Rich couldn't remember if we had anything other than liability insurance on it. GREAT! So fell the Second Shoe.

We all know that when shoes begin to fall, they don't fall in pairs. Which is totally weird because how many people do you know who wear more than 2 shoes at a time? So we kept waiting for the Third Shoe. We knew it was gonna drop. it was only a matter of time. Oh and by the way...the pump motor? $325. The PT? $500 deductible. (Thankfully, we had kept full coverage.) And eventually that Third Shoe fell.

THE THIRD SHOE


It fell with a "Clunk! Clunk! Clunk!"-ing sound. The washer. No matter how I rearranged the clothes in it, it wouldn't balance. This is my third washer since I got married. And it's a Maytag. (By the way- that whole Maytag Repairman who never gets called out to repair Maytag washers-IT'S A TOTAL LIE!) And, of course, it happens the day after my extended warranty with Sears expired. ugh! And it was 2 days before we were leaving for Disneyland. Going to the Laundromat. One of life's true "white trash" experiences. Renewed the warranty and got it fixed. I LOVE Sears.

3 shoes. All within one month. Sharp, pointy toed, stiletto heeled and not one that I could wear!