Last week was a busy one. My dear grandpa passed away on May 9 and was buried the following Tuesday.
Sadly, he passed away on my parents 44th wedding anniversary. My mom tells the story of how she couldn’t stop shaking, from nerves, just before Grandpa walked her down the aisle. “Don’t be nervous Honey, I walked down this aisle countless times; it’s no big deal!” he reassured. After the ceremony, as guests congratulated the newly weds and their parents, Grandpa had his arm around his oldest daughter, until she reluctantly said,”Dad, you’re pulling my veil off.” And so the sweet memories continue to flood our minds…
On Friday, Naomi graduated from Young Fives.
She’s still not comprehending why she didn’t immediately start Kindergarten this past Monday, and is not at all interested in summer vacation.
As my resident shadow, she’s doing remarkably well. From sunrise to sunset she is present to make sure my brain never idles.
“Mom, are we going to make pies today?” Can I help you?” “Are we going, to the store today?” “What store?” “Can I get the Lego set with the horse this time?” “Christmas and my birthday are too far away!” “Can we get a Happy Meal today?” ” I don’t like Spagettios!” And so it goes.
Yesterday, we did some weeding together. “Naomi, can you please not walk in this bed; I’m afraid you’re going to step on the flowers.” “Here, you can help me by pulling the weeds from the brick path.” 2 minutes later, “Mom, what day is it?” “It’s Tuesday, Naomi.” “Oh ya, Tuesday, I don’t actually supposed to do this job on Tuesday, so I’m gonna stop now.”
I suggested that she walk back to the garage to see if Dwight was painting, and if he needed her help. “He is painting,Mom.” After a bit she did decide to check on him though. Within 2 minutes she was back, standing on a patch of creeping phlox. “Dad says he doesn’t need my help,Mom; he says to come back and help you.” Wahoo. “Here, do you want me to pull this weed out?” and before I could speak, a hunk of magenta phlox hung from her little fist.
“Mom, when do you think you could have another baby?” Oh, boy. “Well, Naomi, I think I might be getting too old to have another baby.” ” You’re not old, Mom!” ” you don’t even have gray hair!” What a great kid to have around! I needed a nap after that bit of fun.