Day Ninety Four

Life and Times

I am an observer of animals and people. A weekend spent with our grandchildren always provides me with lots of material. Pack order and family dynamics are in all of the relationships in this house. After having raised two children it's interesting to see the same things play out, not only with our grandchildren, but with the animals who also inhabit this place.

The two kids couldn't be more diverse. Our nine year old granddaughter is smart, funny, beautiful, clever and good with animals. She is fearless and has been assisting me in caring for our animals since she was a toddler wearing pink cowboy boots; helping me take care of my horse.

Multi tasking - holding Dash and
giving her brother orders

Six year old, Little Man, is also smart (but in different ways,) handsome, funny, laid back, kind and loving. He is not really a fan of animals. He prefers Legos. At one point yesterday, he stoically declared the hamster was dead. Everyone went running into the dining room. Relieved to see Petey was still with us, I asked him why he thought the hamster was dead. He said, "Well he looks dead." Then he turned and walked away; satisfied at the reaction he got.

Our granddaughter has been co-parenting our grandson since he was born. It was hilarious seeing a three year old take on the responsibility of caring for another tiny person. Sometimes we have to remind her she really isn't responsible for him and can back off a bit. Often, she reminds me of an Australian Shepherd, herding her little brother around. At other times she is like a Chihuahua nipping at his heels. Always, she is the pack leader barking orders. I overheard him moaning, "I wish you didn't act like a [sic] adult all the time!" Her response, "Well, I am your big sister and I'm helping you get through this life." He turned to me and rolled his eyes. I winked back.

The dynamics in the house when the kids are here are interesting. Jack is on hyper alert. Rooney knows there will be shared food. They both know pancakes are on the menu. The Ragdolls usually curl up on my bed and stay out of the fray. Dash has learned the excitement level is off the charts and that he will get lots of cuddles. Fancy. Well, he finds a place to observe all the craziness.

Yes, this is for you

Inevitably, at least one of the cats will chuck up a hairball. Yesterday, it was Eli, who also saved some to deposit on our grandson's car track. Now, our grandson ordinarily seems to revel in dirt and mess - unless it comes from an animal, especially a cat. He declared it was disgusting and would be hard to clean up, so I should get on that right away. I asked if I could finish my dinner first.

Now that Dash is here we have to be really careful with tiny Lego pieces. We've already discovered he likes to eat pretty much anything. A bloodcurdling scream brought Jack running, Pap straight up off the couch and me - well I dropped what I was holding and ran to see what happened. It was our grandson. One of his tiny plastic soldiers fell on the floor and he just knew Dash was going to eat it. Pap declared screaming was forbidden unless the person was on fire. 

It dawned on me that anything wild and crazy like kids and animals, need lots of fuel to keep moving and will suck all the energy out of you like a Dyson. After twenty four hours of kids (whom I love and adore) and trying to keep track of all the animals (whom I also love and adore,) I collapsed.



Little energy suckers -
can't even be captured on film!

I don't remember much after waving goodbye. I do vaguely recall, at some point, waking my husband, who had fallen asleep on the couch watching TV. At first I panicked. He was leaning sideways with no visible means of support, like a toppled statue. I poked him with the remote and, much to my relief, he snorted and sat up, looking dazed and confused.

We both lived to see another day. Here we are on a bright Sunday morning, sipping coffee and laughing about the kids and animals. Thank you, God, for memories. They aren't nearly as exhausting the second time around.