By Rosie Preston
A certain kind of behavior recently came back to haunt me. It first occurred when my children were in school. Looking back, I realize that it happened over a period of years. But I can’t forget, oh, no!
Back then, my son “forgot” to bring his spelling book home. At first, he tried to blame it on me since I had to pick up children at other schools. I explained to him that the school was now closed and there was no way we would get his spelling book that night.
Later, I was sewing a special dress for my daughter to wear at a church choir play, and I did not have the dress completed. I found out two hours before the play began! How did I accomplish this? I used many small pins, and it somehow stayed together until we got home.
“You said we would go fishing!” But it had rained all night and it was not a good time to go fishing. At that time, he thought I could control the weather and did not hesitate to give me the cold shoulder.
From my son: “Why did you forget to pick me up from ball practice?”
From my daughter: “Mom, you forgot to pay my English book fees!”
I somehow lived through those years thinking that I would be able to do the things I wanted to do once the children were older! But no – I now have six great-grandchildren age one year to six years. Without asking, I jumped into being a caretaker again and I love it. It’s like I can’t remember when my own children amazed me and brought more smiles than tears. I can remember their young years easier.
The great-grandchildren have been given nicknames because of their different personalities. We call the three-year-old “Firecracker,” which is a loud and explosive firework, that typically is lit with a fuse. We call the four-year-old “Spark plug,” which is a device for firing the explosive mixture in an internal combustion engine.
I honestly thought I was through with these kinds of situations where children corrected me or failed to see things my way. It continued on with my three grandchildren.
“Nana, weren’t you were supposed to go on a field trip with me today?” asked my granddaughter.
“You forgot to buy me candy, and a hotdog,” my first grandson chimed in.
My middle grandson was crying as he held his fishing pole. “But Nana, you said we were going fishing!” He did not understand that it had rained all night.
Do I even stand a chance? They are always a step ahead of me.
In one situation I experienced with the three-year-old, we were running a bath when I turned to see her pouring her chocolate in the tub. So, I tried to save the milk in the glass!
“Nana, lasterday, I said sorry and you didn’t say it’s okay,” she told me the next morning, looking like her feelings were hurt.
I explained to her that I was sorry and that I was trying to keep any more chocolate from getting the water all brown. She accepted this explanation by giving me a big hug.
I will be another year older next month. I may be struggling sometimes but the above children above have given me so much love and joy. Just the other day, Spark Plug was upset by something, I tried to console her, but nothing was working. So I pulled my right hand and arm back as if I was holding a ball, then pretended to throw it to her as I said, “Catch this love ball!”
Spark Plug immediately caught on and pretended to catch it!
I then told her, “Now cross your arms to keep the love inside your heart!”
It didn’t take long at all for our family to join in the game as we threw the ball back and forth. The great thing that came out of this little game is still working! They love to pretend and so do I. I can say the years between us are connected with our love for each other!
Keep smiling, Rosie
Contact Rosie Preston at rosie.preston@yahoo.com.