We all need Grandmas-people who believe in us no matter how wretchedly we behave. People who are absolutely, unequivocally, and even unreasonably-on our side.
Yesterday was my birthday and the grand kids made it so fun!
First, my artist daughter thanked me for making her weird (a good thing, she insisted.) Then my youngest daughter took me to the gym because I’ve been complaining about turning into a skinnyish marshamllow. I once was a skinnyish in-shape person, but then I became a landless peasant and have no woods to walk in. 😦
Do you go to a gym? What do you think about as you work out? As I walked on the treadmill, I thought, “Gyms are a good idea! Look at all these people responding to their inner tribesman-tribesman who could, not so long ago, jog for six miles without distress, following the trail of game animals… And I love the fuschia color of all these machines…and who the heck are those Vikings doing the elliptical thing at full speed for 30 minutes now? I mean, its like cross-country skiing, right? They’d be halfway across Siberia by now.”
Then my grand kids Alina (7) and Carlo (5) made artwork for me (don’t you LOVE kid’s artwork?) and Carlo told me fantastic stories about lava monsters and rainbow snails that poop sidewalk chalk. Oh, so that’s where sidewalk chalk comes from!
The other crew, who were on vacation at the beach, found a giant starfish, named it Neena, and ceremoniously released it to the wild.
The kids call me Neena to distinguish me from their Normal Grandma, who is sweet and fluffy, bakes cookies and reminds them to put their socks and shoes on before going outside. I take them outside barefoot and bring them back sweaty, knee-scraped and full of adventure stories. At which point, Normal Grandma rushes them off to apply Bandaids and “wash those filthy hands.”
I don’t think she approves of me. But I approve of her, because as far as our grand kids go, she is absolutely, unequivocally, and even unreasonably-on their side.
This morning I woke up thinking about Neena the starfish, rocking in the salty tides, released to the wild. I feel you, Neena. 🙂
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