Relief

Is it a good sign or a bad sign that I cried when I saw my Mom and Dad coming down to the baggage claim at the airport? I think they arrived at just the right time! Kate and Jane are thrilled to have Grandma and Grandpa close at hand, almost as thrilled as I am. Josh doesn’t get to vote because he is never around anyway, but I am sure he is thrilled as well.

Grandpa Larry was only with us one day and then he headed to Boston to participate in a medical course. Kate made a paper chain for him so he could count down the days until he can come back to Philly to play with us. I didn’t think Jane would even notice that he was leaving. Why do I keep underestimating these kiddos? As we were driving up to the airport to drop Grandpa Larry off Jane said, “I want to get on the airplane with Grandpa because I love him!” Then when I gently told her that just Grandpa was going but he would be back soon, she broke into tears.

Kate won’t let Grandma Shelly out of her sight. She wants Grandma to squeeze between the car seats when we drive anywhere so she will be as close as possible. She wants to hold Grandma’s hand and sit by Grandma at dinner. She wants to read to or play games with Grandma every second of everyday. Last night my mom kindly sent me and Josh out on a date. Kate was just fine with us walking out the door as long as Grandma was staying!

Kate has a new “amazing game” It is her version of Cinderella. Jane is Cinderella. Kate is the Wicked Step Sister. Whenever the Wicked Step Sister has some work to do, i.e. clearing dishes or picking up stickers, she tells Cinderella what to do and Cinderella meekly does the work. I’m not sure how she sold Jane on this version of the game, but she plays her part well.

Now in case you think Kate is putting all her work on her sister, I have to include one more tale. Our dishwasher broke this week, so I started spending a good chunk of every day washing dishes. Then Kate decided to help me. Much to my surprise, she truly became a HUGE help! She loved scrubbing the dishes and seeing them get soapy. She was so careful and thorough. It was amazing! She saved me so much time and made the chore fun. She would scrub and I would rinse and dry and we would chat and sing Christmas carols as we worked.

We are excited to have Grandma Shelly with us this week. We have sewing projects to do, food to cook, a few sites to see, and a lot of time to enjoy having Grandma around. Things are looking up in Philly!