Tag: Little Diamond

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Time

As I looked back through some of my posts over the last couple years, and thinking about some that I put up on the old site, I realized that so many have titles relating to the passing of time. This is, of course, a recognition on my part of the course my family’s lives have taken over the last 16+ years. As I was chatting with the Oldest One on our daily phone call as she makes her way home from work, we talked about today (since we talked yesterday, it was actually tomorrow then…) and, as I’ve written before, today is unalterably the most bittersweet of days. We celebrate the birthday of the youngest grandchild while acknowledging another year since Diane died.

To be honest, when I sat down yesterday to work on this, my first thought was to just do some cursory introduction-type thing and then put in an excerpt from what I’ve previously written about Diane and Caitlin. After I ruled that out I thought maybe I’d just re-post a piece I’d written on an earlier August 21st.

Neither of those things felt right as I looked at them (the posts) more closely, and the more I considered it, the more I knew the day deserved its own post.

So here goes.

As the Little Diamond gets older, I want to make sure she knows the Grandma she never got the chance to know. I mean, obviously, I want all of the grandkids to know her; the Reigning Princess shares some of her personality traits after all. The Heir To the Throne and the Boy Genius, while maybe not remembering her, at least had moments with her. Moments saved on film (or, you know, digitally) that the three younger ones never will have. So, while I don’t want to gloss over the other littles, because of the connection inherent in their “shared” date, it’s important to me that LD knows her Grandma. I know they would’ve been fast friends, LD has some of Ellie’s personality and she and Diane had a pretty solid relationship, after a time. I think, Diane would’ve been in on the Jojo Siwa phenomenon too. Maybe not to the point of wearing bows and/or unicorn headbands herself but, yeah, she would’ve loved taking LD shopping for Jojo-wear at the drop of a hat. I know her heart would have been so full watching the first dance recital last spring too, just for one example.

Quick side story, one of my favorite Diane/Grandma Ellie stories at that. When the Boy Child was in the Army he bought his first new car; a Jeep Wrangler. He really enjoyed driving it with the doors off and the top down. As you might imagine, this made for a pretty windy trip wherever you were going. Diane was pretty particular about her hair. I don’t mean to say she was obsessive about it or anything, but she always looked pretty dialed in before she left the house. One day, while I was at the firehouse, the two of them got in his Jeep and went for a ride. Someone else was with them, but I’m drawing a blank on who it was. And since that part isn’t germane to the story, I’ll leave it at that. Since it was a forty-five-ish minute drive from the house in Wondertucky (not the town’s real name) to the Greater Burlington Metropolitan (all 500 citizens) area to say they were a little windblown is an understatement of epic proportions. To further set the scene, Mom’s eyesight wasn’t stellar by this point in her life. As I wrote about on the old site after her passing, it wasn’t so bad that she wouldn’t point out (real or imagined) road hazards; other cars, dogs, deer, tractors, you get the idea, but it was bad enough that she wouldn’t always see faces clearly unless they got really close. So, when they stopped in for a visit, and the Boy Child greeted her with a typical “Hi Gram!” her response was an enthusiastic “Hi Ryan! Who’s your friend?”

We all had a good laugh about that one, and reminded Ellie about it from time to time. And it’s actually memories like that one that have helped soften the loss as the years have passed. It also feels a lot healthier mentally to laugh about our past than it does to weep over it. Kind of a celebrate what you had versus mourning what you lost perspective. I’ll always be able to connect with the last days. But I try really hard not to tap into that. Especially since I’m no longer doing VIP’s. I felt like ripping open that particular vein and bleeding on the stage helped get my point across. Now that I’m done with that part of my life, my grief can finally mellow. It will never go away completely but it allows me to live a normal-ish life.

Well this is starting to take a turn on me, so let me try and get back to where I was originally headed with this thing. I FaceTimed with the Little Diamond and her Daddy this morning, and she told me they were going to the coffeehouse and then the play place. I’m fairly certain there are (were) bunny cookies and a cupcake in her future. As there should be on a birthday, amirite?

Sweetie, I don’t know if you’ll ever read this. But one day I’ll sit you down and show you pictures of an amazing woman. I’ll explain to you how she was the life of every party she attended. I’ll explain to you how much she meant to, not just our family, but through her advocacy work, to people she barely knew. I’ll explain to you how much she would have loved spoiling you, and your big brother, and your cousins if she’d had the chance. And maybe one day you’ll understand why sometimes, on your birthday, I get a little tear in my eye.

Happy birthday sweetie, I love you!

Peace

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What I Did On My Summer Vacation

Ok, I’ve got to get a couple things out of the way first… A.) Thanks so much for the overwhelming response to my last post. The sheer volume of readers was overwhelming as were the comments both on this site as well as on the various social media platforms I use to get this stuff out there. It was one of the most viewed posts and THE most shared post I’ve had in the (almost) ten years (side note, Holy Crap! Ten years?) I’ve been doing this. So from the bottom of my heart, and on behalf of my family, thanks!

Oh yeah, I mentioned “a couple things” didn’t I? Brief senior moment… So, B.) Often times the title I choose is a tad bit misleading. Sometimes they make perfect sense to me, sometimes they don’t and sometimes I just like the sound of it even though it doesn’t remotely fit what I wrote that day. Such is the case today, since what I’m about to put down for you here is neither about summer nor vacation. Rather, I’m going to attempt to put a literary bow on my trip back to Illinois.

Life is about discovery.  It starts at an early age, really. Toddlers discover new skills regularly and, as we grow, more discoveries, both similar and brand new come to our consciousness.  With a little luck, discovery is a part of our lives for the duration. 

For example, while I was home I made a very important discovery.  At the Heir To The Throne’s graduation party the Reigning Princess and the Little Diamond were seated next to me at one point and each was enjoying a lovely cupcake. A lovely homemade cupcake at that. Some wonderful human being made several dozen of these small delights, and I, for one, was grateful as you might imagine. I asked the Little Diamond if I could have one. She looked at me sweetly, and said simply, “No.”

I said “Wait a minute, who took you to the cupcake place and bought you cupcakes?” She pointed at me. “And who took you to the park to play all those times?” She pointed at me. “And who took you to the coffeehouse and got you juice and bunny cookies?” With a mouthful of cupcake frosting, she pointed at me.   “So, now can I get a cupcake?”

Her reply, again, was a resolute “No.”  With an impish grin for added emphasis.

Now what, you might ask, did I discover?  Simply this.  When I’ve lost control of the things that make me me and it comes time for the family to make decisions on my behalf, I want that kid nowhere near the process or I’ll end up living in some rat-infested dump of a nursing home.  And if my room has a window, (and I feel like that’s a big IF) it’ll probably be overlooking a bakery that specializes in cupcakes that are bigger than your head.

I’m joking, of course. Mostly. I’m fairly confident she’ll get out-voted anyway. So far.

Ok, I’m gonna keep this one a little on the shorter side than the last one was. But I want to end it with a question and I’d really like to hear from some of the faithful on this. Honest opinions, at that. I think I’ve talked about this before here, at least in passing, but I’m thinking about it again. Specifically, I’m thinking about selling ad space on the site. Tbh, I haven’t really dug deep into that yet, so I don’t know what kind of revenue would be generated. I’m fairly confident it wouldn’t be huge, based on the volume of “clicks” I generate, and a part of me kind of enjoys providing you with content that, while it may not be Pulitzer material, is at least also not clubbing you over the head with ads for E.D. meds or whatever Godawful fashion bit is trending at any given moment. I recognize that Godawful fashion is probably not the kind of thing advertisers want their website typing, but hey, I’mma speak my truth. So think about some of the other websites you peruse, and tell me what you think about having ads alongside whatever it is you may be viewing.

Like I said, I really want to hear some opinions on this from those of you that read me. So please comment, either here or on whatever social media platform drove you here. Thanks in advance for your input, and, as always, thanks for reading the stuff I put out here.

Peace

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Random Conversations With A Three Year Old – Wrapping Up

In order to wrap this up, I’ve got two updates on my time hanging out with the 3 year-old. I mentioned in an earlier post that after our stop at the coffeehouse we head to a local park for play time. Unless it’s raining, in which case (the first time anyway) we went to a well known, franchised, hamburger place. She got a meal that made her “Happy” (lulz) and played for quite a while on the indoor playground. The next time it rained, as I GTS’d a somewhat less Golden Arch-y place to go, she very helpfully suggested we might try visiting Disney World. Taking that advice under consideration (not really) I continued my interwebz search and found a spot, very close by called Kinderland. Can I just say that this little indoor playground is right in the wheelhouse for three year-old grandchildren of mine? Slides, a ball pit, swings, stuff to climb on, a plethora of options all geared to preschool aged kids. And to top it off they have Nutella To Go packs! As I mentioned in my first post about hanging with a three year-old, she’s a big fan of Nutella, so this place is like pure win for her.

And since we’re talking about food (can I segue like a boss or what?) let me just say the Little Diamond is a confirmed grazer. Like three breakfasts, two lunches, a dinner and a snack is not an uncommon day. She’s got a good appetite and eats a variety of good, healthy, things. With the occasional exception, because the apples in our orchard often stay close to the tree… Case in point, the other day for breakfast 2.0 she wanted grapes and mango slices. Healthy, right? I asked what else she wanted and she pointed innocently at the fudge stripe cookies. You know the type, they’re made by elves, I believe. In an incredible display of discipline, I told her she could only have one and she had to have something else healthy. So she chose carrots. Now, we’re good here, right? 75% healthy stuff with one cookie, especially a cookie as irresistible as one with stripes of fudge, feels like the best of both worlds. I figured this would be kept on a need-to-know basis; between LD and Grandpa. That lasted until Daddy walked into the kitchen to refresh his coffee.

“Daddy I had a stripe cookie for breakfast!”

Ratted out by a 3 year-old. We went through a similar exchange when her brother came into the kitchen a few minutes later, at which point I asked her if she’d like to go out on the front porch and shout it out to the neighborhood. She demurred. A little while later, when Mommy came into the kitchen and commented on the fruit LD had chosen for breakfast, I asked LD if she’d like to add any further comment aaaannnd she helpfully told her Mom she’d started her breakfast with a stripe cookie.

I’m perfectly fine with all this too, btw. If a Grampa can’t feed possibly inappropriate breakfast foods, well then, we’ve let the terrorists win, haven’t we?

I’ve been sitting here, intermittently staring at the computer screen for about 30 minutes now, trying to decide which direction I want to go as I try to finish this post. We had a couple of larger events the last couple days and either of them would be perfectly fitting ways to close this out. Ok, I picked one so here goes. The other one may surface soon or it may float off into the ether of my brain, time will tell.

A couple posts back I pondered whether there was anything more adorbs than a three year-old in a tutu. I can now say that there is, in fact. A dance floor full of three year-olds in tutus may well be the highest score to be obtained on the Adorbs Gradient Rating System (not a real thing) ever. Blasting past puppies, kittens, bunnies, laughing babies, you name it.

This was confirmed yesterday afternoon at the Little Diamonds first ever (and possibly last ever) dance recital, as her “troupe” gave their interpretation of “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” as sung by Judy Garland. The miniature prima ballerinas all did great although I must admit the LD was by far (no bias on my part, nope, not a bit) the best of the show. She really did do great, in all seriousness, and it was truly a joy to watch. Of course it’s far too early to say if she has a future in dance or not, but the fact that, when asked by her Mom what she wanted to do next, her reply was an emphatic “KARATE!” leads me to believe her debut may have also been her swan song.

Such is the temperament of an artistè.

Fun fact – I just GTS’d artiste and the proper spelling shows no accent mark, but I like it so I’mma keep it there. You don’t like it, write your own damn blog. Seriously, some of you should. You know who you are.

Peace

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More Random Conversations With A Three Year-Old

As promised, the Little Diamond continues to educate me. As a bonus for you, dear readers, I’ve also included some of the running commentary I’ve had with her seven year-old brother, the grandchild formerly known as Beatle Baby. I hope you enjoy reading these as much as I enjoyed hearing them.

As part of our regular routine on days when it’s just the two of us, LD joins me at the coffeehouse (where the baristas spoil her with “bunny cookies”. These are small butter cookies shaped, as you may have guessed, like bunnies, and they’re a big hit) and after my daily latte fix (I may have a problem. Except it’s not a problem) we go to a park of her choosing. One of her favorites has a long slide. The other day, as she finished one of her trips down the slippery surface she proclaimed, to anyone listening, “Best. Slide. Evaaar.”

She’s also fond of facepalms when I (or any other adult she spends time with for that matter) says something she finds unbelievable. And, while that’s pretty funny to watch, my favorite LD special effect has to be either the sad trombone noise she’s perfected (“Wah, wah, waaah”) or when she says something she considers hilarious, and wants to ensure a reaction she feels is suitable, will finish it with “Anybody? Anybody?” I’m waiting for her to recommend the veal and to remind me to tip the waitstaff next.

Lastly on the LD front, apparently Jojo Siwa is a thing at that age group. I had never heard of her before, apparently she owes her “fame” to some reality tv show. But she’s quite a thing in LD’s eyes. If you’re unfamiliar with her, you should probably avoid GTSing her or your search suggestions may get flooded with teenage “musicians” and I’m guessing nothing good will come from that.

Moving right along. This happened one day last week. Actually all of it did. It was quite a week.

Former Beatle Baby “Grampa Joe, are you married?”

Me “Nope.”

FBB “Cause you’re too old, right?”

Me :-l

Or this- While holding his sister’s lip balm.

FBB “Can Lilly lick this?”

Me “No pal, that’s not for dogs.”

FBB “Oh.” “She kinda did.”

Me “She kinda did?”

FBB “Uh huh”

Me “Ok, then.”

In case you’re wondering, I washed off the lip balm before I gave it back to the LD.

This came from the bathroom yesterday-

FBB “Don’t stop, believin’…” Which, btw, sounded better than Journey since, you know, Journey. But I’m not sure why he felt compelled to sing that song, let alone to sing it in the bathroom. Also, at random times yesterday I was treated to Coldplay’s “Paradise” and possibly “Livin’ On A Prayer” by Bon Jovi? At least that’s who I think it’s by. I don’t care enough to look it up. I get enough off-base music suggestions (artificial intelligence my ass) as it is. I’m beginning to question his parenting though. Not really. But kinda.

Finally there was this, at a fundraiser breakfast for the fire department where I got my start lo those many years ago, and where we were joined by his Aunt, the Oldest One. Tossing a sugar packet in front of his Aunt, FBB said

“You dropped your name tag.”

As you might imagine, the table erupted into some pretty hearty laughter. But the best part was when he leaned over to his Mom and asked

“What does that mean?”

Peace

PS- I’ve got another one of these brewing, but first I need to figure out how to whittle a video down to a size that will allow me to embed it into a post. You’ll know it if I’m successful…