It's A Girl!

Just in case anyone wasn't certain, Anna has spent the past few weeks proving that she is, without a doubt, 100%, pure, nothin' but girl. It is a regular occurrence for her to sling a purse over her shoulder, slip her feet into my shoes, grab my sunglasses, and walk to the door yelling, "Bye-bye!" over her shoulder.
I can't put on earrings without giving her a necklace to wear, put on shoes without having to change the ones she is wearing for a different pair, or grab my purse without making sure she has one too.




(Note the purse slung over her arm as she eats...)

Ahhh

Tonight, Will and I took the kids to a shopping center in our area that has lots of restaurants, shops, huge fountains, wide open grassy areas, and a playground. It's a place we used to frequent when Charlie was a toddler, before Anna came along. After her arrival, attending a place like this with a finicky, clingy, crawling infant was just not worth the hassle.
Today as Will and I sat back in chairs along the sidelines and watched as our two little monkeys giggled and chased one another along the stretch of playground, I breathed a huge sigh. A sigh of relief, as well as gratefulness for the beauty that is our life these days.
Don't get me wrong, as soon as Anna really got the hang of walking, she got the hang of running. Away. And into trouble. But that is something I actually like about parenthood. While the midnight feedings and leach-like dependence of infancy is fun for some, I prefer the insanity of books in the toilet, markers on the wall, cereal in the guest room, and underwear in the pantry.

And there is nothing in the world like the feeling of seeing your children running together and laughing aloud, creating their own childhood memories together.

Signs

Of all the parenting books I read while pregnant and during Charlie's first year of life in preparation of becoming a parent, one book that never crossed my mind to read was the Driver's Manual.
Boy, would that have come in handy these days.
Charlie's "latest", as I've come to term his phases, is requiring that I define for him every road sign he sees. And I mean e-v-e-r-y sign. As a driver, you would be amazed at how little you actually know. Particularly when you have to come up with an exact definition that a very particular almost-four-year-old will accept as accurate and understandable.
Gotta run, I have some studying to do...

You Know You Are a Mom If...

I think it is safe to say that you have completely given yourself over to motherhood when you resort to using Mr. Bubble Bubble Bath to shave your legs.
It would appear as though there is no saving the woman who used to buy shaving lotions, get her hair done regularly at a salon, and have her eyebrows waxed on a habitual basis. I actually liked looking at her in the mirror. Oh well...

Ah, yes, and I now smell like pink bubblegum to boot.

Grandmama

Although Anna's walking has played a major role in my absence from the computer lately, she is not the only reason for my hiatus.

Last weekend my grandmother, Grandmama as she was known to me, and "Joycie" to my children, was taken to the hospital with what we finally discovered to be a brain bleed due to amyloid angiopathy, a complication of Alzheimer's disease. The following week became a blur as we spent endless hours in a hospital room at her side as she slipped away. She was finally released from the hospital on Tuesday and transported to a Hospice House where her three daughters, my cousin, and I held her hand as she passed away.

I have spent many hours in the dark the past several nights mulling over what I would write about her. Knowing this blog will someday serve as the only memories my children have of their great-grandmother, the task seems daunting. Because the truth is, even the most gifted writer couldn't put into words the amazing spirit that was my grandmother.

I want to tell my children all the things about her that I can't describe with words. The way her voice sounded when she sang silly songs to me in the bathtub. The way her fingernails barely touched my back as she tickled it until I fell asleep. The way her smile never waned, even for one second, when we begged for one more game of Red Light, Green Light.

The way she comforted me like only a mother or grandmother could do.

The way she gave of herself, like no one I have ever known.

There will never be another Grandmama. And although her mind had been slipping for years, her love and selflessness was always there, beneath the disease.

I can't bring her back for my children and I can't be what she was. But I will use the lessons she taught me to be the best mother and, perhaps someday, grandmother that I can be.

When the days get long and my patience runs thin, I will think of her, of how her smile never waivered, and I will smile. I will strive to be as patient, giving, selfless, and loving as my Grandmama was.

And she will look down on me and be proud of the mother she continues to help me become.

No Time to Think Of A Title

Blogging has been scarce lately. Quite simply put, it is because Anna is walking, and this is what happens when I look away long enough to log onto my page...




The marker says it's washable, but does that also mean edible??