I know that Jim’s Nana may not know exactly who the girls are, but I know that she knows she loves them.
And I know that’s all that matters.
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After yesterday’s impromptu picnic, I decided to try to put a little more planning into one today to take advantage of the 90 degree temperatures. So I packed up the kids and some sandwiches and their hats and bibs and drove to a new park about a half an hour away. The park was great; there was a huge grassy ball field and a big play structure that the girls happily ambled around, but my forethought evidently didn’t extend to the summer-like temperatures. I simply hadn’t switched gears into warm-weather thinking yet. I had dressed the girls in long pants and long-sleeved shirts and neglected to apply sunscreen on any of us. So after just a few minutes of playtime, the girls were flushed and sweaty. I didn’t want to leave yet, given we had driven all the way over there, so I just kept them well hydrated, rolled up their pants and sleeves and showed them how to play in the shade underneath the slide. We were soon joined under the slide by three other kids, probably each around age 5, who were also seeking shade and diversion. The kids were enthralled by the girls and made themselves quite useful by alerting me anytime one of my girls tried to eat rocks or wood chips. One boy who seemed unable to pronounce the letter “r,†kept calling everything my girls did “adowable.†I thoroughly agreed. The whole scene was, indeed, adowable.
Today provided considerably more adventure than I expected when I left the house this morning. The girls and I attended our weekly story hour gathering at the library, and drove back to the house all feeling rather tired (the girls were weary because they missed their morning nap, and I think I’m still recuperating from our busy weekend). I pulled up the driveway and hit my garage opener, expecting to be able to park in the garage like normal. Nothing happened. I tried again. Nothing happened. I tried the other garage door. Again, nothing. I deduced that our house had lost power, thus rendering the garage doors immobile. This probably wouldn’t pose a problem for most people, because most people are smart enough to carry a house key with them. Not me. The girls were starting to get whiny in the backseat, and my stomach was grumbling, so I figured I’d head down the road to a local general store to get lunch, by which time the power would surely be back on at the house. The power was also out at the store, but they were able to slap together some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and bagel with cream cheese for us. I’m thankful I had cash on me, because my credit cards were useless there during the outage. I didn’t feel like getting sandwich fixings smeared all over the inside of my car, so I sat the girls down at a table out front of the store, and we had a little impromptu picnic, sans bibs and high chairs. This made for a messier lunch, but a yummy one nonetheless. Once the girls finished eating, they found great pleasure in walking back and forth along the front stoop of the store, greeting the entering customers with a wave and a hearty “Hi!†I sat there, finishing my bagel and feeling rather pleased with the morning thus far. After all, we were making the best of the situation, and the weather was cooperating to give us a nice outdoor lunch. The girls eventually were getting too bold for my taste and trying to venture out into the parking lot, so I packed them back into the car and went home to see if our power had returned (nope). The girls were now even more tired than before, and I was starting to get antsy from needing to use a restroom. I was desperate enough that I drove down to a park and used an outhouse there (in retrospect, I should have asked at the store to use theirs, but I didn’t think of it until we had already left). I let the girls run around the grassy field, getting thoroughly muddy because of the puddles from an early morning rainstorm. After they ran themselves silly, they headed back to the car of their own volition, and we drove back to the house. Still no power. It was now almost two hours from when we had first arrived home. I was feeling decidedly un-adventurous with two kids fussing behind me and I had resolved to drive around until they fell asleep, at which point I would park the car and take a nap myself. Then a thought dawned on me, and I called my mother-in-law on my cell phone and told her of our plight. Thankfully, I was able to pick up a key to her house, and let ourselves in. I think we were all very thankful to be in a house – anyone’s house! The girls were rejuvenated by all the toys at their Bubba’s house, and so they played for a while until they started to rub their eyes and their ears and yank toys away from each other and I decided it was naptime. I put them to bed in the port-a-cribs we keep there, and then I promptly laid down on the guest bed and fell asleep. I woke up when I heard the power come back on, and then waited until the girls woke up and I herded them into the car and back home. We were only without power for four hours, but that was enough for me. I am definitely not an adventurous gal – at least, not when I have two tired, hungry toddlers in tow. I feel silly that this little hiccup in our routine so thoroughly taxed my patience. After all, there was no harm done (except for me having to use an outhouse – yuck!). We simply ended up having an unexpected picnic and romp at the park. No big deal. This was nothing compared to the struggles of so many other families. We are incredibly blessed to have a roof over our heads, power (usually) to our home, indoor plumbing, a pantry stocked with food, a car and gas for travel…the list goes on and on. I thank the Lord for this little reminder of how richly blessed we are. I hope I remember that the next time I face a trial, no matter how big or small. The Lord will provide. I have two budding entomologists in the house. They love to identify any bug with an emphatic “Buh! Buh! Buh!†They get so enthusiastic that they also alert me to any dark-colored lint or fuzz on the floor with the same proclamation, just in case it’s a dead bug. Can you see the ladybug in the picture below? (Hint: It’s not the squiggly line on the carpet – that’s a stray piece of yarn from their Dora doll).
Here, let Becky point it out for you:
They kept track of the little critter until I swept it up with a Kleenex and tossed it in the trash.
Nothing gets by these sharp-eyed ladies. They definitely let me know when it’s time to vacuum again! Here’s a verse from a hymn by Fanny Crosby that perfectly captures the Easter message for me:
It was love that brought Christ down to earth to live as a perfect man. It was love that nailed Him to the cross to endure the punishment for the sins of the world. It was love that raised Him from the dead, satisfied with His sacrifice. It was love that brought Him back to Heaven, a glorified Savior. And it was love that brought me to my knees in repentance and faith in Him. May you know the sin-cleansing love of the Lord today. Happy Easter from our family to yours!
We went to a church conference this afternoon, and although the girls weren’t quite as well-behaved as I had hoped they would be, they made up for it by looking cute in their new dresses from Jim’s Aunt Mary:
Becky thought they looked pretty cute, too.
Here’s Susie crashing after a long day of looking cute:
It’s a tough job, but someone’s gotta do it! The temperature today was in the upper 70’s, so I couldn’t resist getting outside with the girls in such gorgeous weather. We headed to a park where the girls pointed out all the puppy dogs:
and walked with their Bubba:
and sat on Pappy’s motorcycle:
and collected sticks:
(We also later went and got ice cream, which was my favorite part of the day!) Here’s a quick video of the girls showing us their stick collection: My safe zone is gone. I imagine most moms have one – an area that they can safely place an object, be it a phone or camera, and have it be within mom’s reach, but not within children’s reach. Well, my children are now reaching where they ought not. Their little arms are long enough to reach all the way to the back of the couch cushion where I have, for over a year now, stashed things that I don’t want the girls to touch. Nothing is safe anymore. When did the girls get so big that they can reach onto kitchen tables and mid-level bookshelves and yes, the back of the couch? Can’t I squish them or something to keep them short? So if you call my house and I don’t answer, it’s because I now have to keep the phone in its cradle on the kitchen counter instead of nearby on the couch, and I am too lazy to huff and puff into the other room to retrieve the phone. At least the phone should be off-limits to the girls for at least another year…until they figure out how to pull chairs over to the counter to boost themselves up. And then, I might just give up and concede that the girls are going to be randomly dialing all of the Western Hemisphere. I guess that’s why we have free long distance.
Bye, bye safe zone. You will be missed. |
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