Lessons Learned.....From GrandTone.....

As you probably already know, I am in KansasCity keeping the grandchildren while daughter Kathryn and her husband Danny deal with the loss of Dan's mother to lung cancer this week.



True story, this am...It is Recycle Day, so I dutifully put out the Recycle on the curb (dammit, ... You Teach a kid to love the planet, and it comes back to whack you in the butt--she had a Lot of stuff to take to the curb).....I did this last night, because, well, I'm not too "wonderful" in the mornings....Never have been.

So, anyway, the children are up at 7 am (sigh....HOW did I DO this before when my own children were little???), and I make coffee and fix them a smoothie ("Don't Tell yer Momma that you had icecream for breakfast!" Giggles all around----smoothie has banana, peanut butter, milk, yoghurt, and, well....m&m's). Dogs out back to pee (all 4--their 2, my 2 "fast cars" as Rob calls 'em...The old Friend stayed at home w/Dad/akaRob).

Now, once coffee is ingested and smoothies consumed I have a bit of brain about me. I decide that it would be a cool thang to have Bowling Down the Long Hallway.....So, I trip out, in my flannel dog-print pajamas, and retrieve the several plastic Coke bottles that were in Kathryn's recycle.....and cruise over to the neighbors' blue boxes for a few more. Grace is watching me from the front porch.

I got a Lot of empty plastic Coke bottles! Now, all we need is a couple of balls to roll down the hall. Shouldn't be a difficult thang to find, considering "Ball" is Sam's first word...

Sam is 2. He is not verbal at all. No words, to speak of, tho he does have excellent cognitive language. Since I've been here, he has made attempts to say GrandTone ("GaGa"---shall I begin wearing skimpy clothing like the LADY Gaga?), James, and Please and Thankyou. He's learning that all I really Want is an Effort on his behalf, and if he does ANY verbalization at all, he'll get whatever he wants. Seems to be working somewhat.

I'm back on the front porch, and Grace, in her pink shortie pajamas, says that Sam has "locked the door." I had made SURE that the wooden door did not close behind us....It automatically locks when pulled to, and I'd learned that on Sunday....The glass door, however, was pulled closed so that Sam would stay inside. And stay inside he did.....turning the locking mechinism on the handle.....

Okay....NOT a problem. I happen to Know the code to the garage door opener. I trip down the porch stairs and enter the code, and while the door is going up, I remember that last night I had Locked the door from the house to the garage in an attempt to "secure' the place....The key, that normally stays on the keyring in the ignition, was safely stowed away in the pocket of my purse.....INside the house.....

Okay....Still NOT a problem....I had let the dogs out earlier into the back yard, so I go thru the gate Collies swirling around me, and head for the back door. Okay....well...I'd also locked THAT door, just out of Habit when I let them out for First Morning Whiz.....

Now we have a Problem. A problem dressed in Doggie flannel pajamas and a 2-year-old loose inside the house....

Samuel is smiling in the door when I return to the front. His eyes "disappear" when he smiles, and he has the kitten in his arms. I am telling myself that there IS an answer here somewhere, I just need to find it out. Meanwhile, Grace is pounding the empty plastic Coke bottles on the porch railing.

It actually only took about 10 tries to get Samuel to twist his precious little fingers around the lock and turn it the opposite way. We are INSIDE! Pop bottles in place down the hall, and we are Bowling, ladies and gentlemen!

ALL my daughter could do was Laugh (SO inappropriate!) when I told her......I get very little respect these days. Wonder if it could be my choice of bedclothes?