We are Part of Life's Eternal Rhyme

How very special are we
For just a moment to be
Part of life’s eternal rhyme
How very special are we
To have on our family tree
Mother Earth and Father Time

He turns the seasons around
And so she changes her gown
But they always look in their prime
They go on dancing their dance
Of every lasting romance
Mother Earth and Father Time

The summer larks return to sing
Oh what a gift they give
Then autumn days grow short and cold
Oh what a joy to live

How very special are we
For just a moment to be
Part of life’s eternal rhyme
How very special are we
To have on our family tree
Mother Earth and Father Time

The autumn days grow short and cold
Its Christmas time again
The snows of winter slowly melt
The days grow short and then
He turns the seasons around
And so she changes her gown
Mother Earth and Father Time
How very special are we
For just a moment to be
Part of life’s….eternal….rhyme

I have heard your sweet Mother sing this beautiful song to you several times. It was sung by Debbie Reynolds in the 1973 version of Charlotte’s Web. (Debbie Reynolds was born in 1932 and was once known as “America’s Sweetheart”.) Charlotte’s Web was a cartoon so only her voice was a part of the movie, and this song was especially beautiful and somewhat haunting. Your mother loved this sweet & inspiring but some what sad story of the friendship between a pig and a spider. Charlotte knew her life would be short and Wilbur the pig didn’t understand until after he heard this song. Fortunately our lives are longer than a spider’s, but we are very special to be part of ”life’s eternal rhyme” even for just a moment. On Tuesday this week the mother of your Saba Rafi died in Israel. She was your Dad’s grandmother and your great-grandmother. You never met her but your Mother and Daddy visited her on a trip to Israel before you were born. On the night you were born I sat in the Labor & Delivery waiting room with Rafi and he told me the story of his father escaping from Nazi Germany when he was a teenager; his parents (Rafi's grandparents) did not escape. He made his way to Palestine where he entered illegally but stayed and made his life there. His grandson, your Dad, was born in Israel. I didn’t think to ask Rafi about his Mother. But the night of her death I was with you while your Dad was bathing you and he told me she also escaped from Nazi-occupied Europe when she was a teenager. She and her sister were able to escape from a train because a guard who had once dated your great-grandmother, turned his head and gave them a chance to flee. I’ll need to learn more about her when I have a chance to talk with Rafi again. Maybe we will have another time together one day waiting for a Rotter baby to be born. But you are the descendent of survivors, strong and brave people who would be proud of you and rejoiced when you arrived to be a part of the joy of living. I have enjoyed the moments I have spent with you this month! January 8 was one of the coldest days ever in Birmingham. Because it was so cold (below 10 degrees) your school opened late but I took you to school bundled in your warmest coat! After you went to bed for your nap, I heard you singing this sweet song. On January 12 your Uncle Alan came to visit & you enjoyed showing him your trampoline skills and playing Candy Land and "Matching Game" with him and your Daddy! They watched the college national champion (Ohio defeated Oregon 42 to 20). One daily challenge with you is deciding what you will wear to work. Some mornings you will wear what your mother has laid out  for you. But some mornings it is the fourth outfit before you finally will decide to actually wear it! You love to wear skirts that allow you to twirl! We have started spending time in your “big girl room” playing with puzzles and trucks. It is always fun and you are learning how to put puzzles together, a good skill since life is full of puzzles! One beautiful warm Tuesday after you got out of school I met you and your mother at Pablo’s restaurant and we ate outside. We went back to your house and played outside with play doh before I took you to gymnastics where your Dad met us to take you home. It was a wonderful visit. Because you have to be at gymnastics at 4:00 pm we have started skipping a nap on Tuesdays. You really enjoy gymnastics and you are very good at it. It is fun to watch you in class. On Thursday, January 22 I was at your house early and you woke up singing “Tomorrow” from Annie. We had a good morning and a fun time playing after school with only a short “test of Granny” in the morning getting ready and in the afternoon pre-nap. It is so hard for me to be firm with you. But I know you have to make it to school on time and you need an afternoon nap, so as the representative of your parents, I have to set limits regarding how many times you can change your mind about clothes and how long you can stall before taking a nap!  You seem to feel an obligation to test my commitment to you doing what's right at least once or twice a day! On Sunday, January 25 you went to the circus with me, your Mom & Aunt Kristina and Eli and Maggie Rae. Everyone had a great time! We had good seats and you really enjoyed the show & the souvenirs and your cousins. It was fun to watch you enjoy the circus and your cousins. The most recent two days I spent with you were especially nice. The weather was great and other than a brief time the morning you finally wore the 4th outfit you picked out, it was a perfect visit. After school both days we played at the park close to your school. It was fun to watch you negotiate turns with other children and for me to go down the slides multiple times with you. Tuesday the 27th was the day your great-grandmother died. After school we  did not go home until after gymnastics. We went to Taziki’s for lunch after our time at the park, then to Bruster’s for ice cream where we went down the slide many times (and ate a little ice cream) and shopped at Dollar Tree before gymnastics. You really enjoyed gymnastics and we had a good ride home where we found both of your parents there and happy to see you. After your bath I took a cute picture of you with your Daddy. You are so special and so funny and happy and excited about life. I am so glad our moments as part of “life’s eternal rhyme” are overlapping for this season of time...which I hope is long enough for you to have memories of me and to tell my great-grandchildren about our season together.

Top of Slide Mt. Laurel Park

 

Piloting the new see-saw airplane at the park!

 

Circus Jan 25 with cousins!

Front row circus seats!

Pre-gymnastics slide at Bruster's Ice Cream



Candyland with Dad & Uncle

Trampoline time!

Learning to play Matching game

Post-bath time!

Now 2014 is over and it's 2015!

In December both of your parents had a birthday and I kept you while they went to a movie the night of  December 4, your Mother's 35th birthday. It was the first night I spent the night at your new house and bathed you and put you to bed. The other nights I spent at your house were while your mother was working and your Dad had the honor of putting you to bed. Your bed has continued to get more crowded. I think there are now 17 stuffed animals who sleep with you! December 11 was the second time I went to your class and listened to students read aloud. (I think you will be reading soon!) While I was there I got to go with you to a holiday musical performance by the older students. One song they sang was an original composition by the HMS music teacher titled "Maria Montesori" about the Italian physician and educator who developed the wonderful method of teaching at your school. It was quite a catchy tune! It was fun to sit with you among all of your classmates and listen to the program. You have a great school! On Monday, December 15 I got to go to your school again for "Muffins with Mom". Your mom was on call and able to attend as well. After I took you home, both of the dogs had been sick and vomited on the rug. Yuck! On Thursday, December 18 I kept you while your parents went to an appointment. You were really coughing and didn't seem to feel well. The next morning you had a fever and didn't go to school. I was very sorry you didn't get to go to the Holiday party & Pajama Day, but you really weren't feeling well. You were very sweet and we, and your 17 animals, took a long nap together! After your Dad got home I took the dogs home with me because you were heading to the beach the next day. Unfortunately you & your parents were all sick and didn't have as much fun at the beach as you deserved! By Tuesday, December 23 when you returned, I wasn't feeling good either. I brought your dogs home to you after I went to the doctor & started antibiotics. The next time I saw you was Christmas morning and I stayed with you until I went home again to stay after your Dad returned home the morning of January 2 from a camping trip in New Mexico, and a long drive through Texas in snow and ice and cold. It was great to have your family back together again! Although you really hated taking the yucky white medicine (you had both strep throat and the flu!), you eventually began to feel better and we got to do some fun things. Your mother and I put together the trampoline Great Grandmother Hastie gave you for Christmas and you really enjoyed jumping in it! Your gymnastics classes have helped you develop your jumping skills! You got a Candyland game which is a longtime traditional children's game & we played quite a few rounds of it. Your mother wasn't feeling well and on Friday I took you to the Hoover Library and then met Nitza at Galleria Mall where you rode the carousel with her. And then we ate at your favorite place--Chace Lake Taziki's! On Saturday your former neighbors Dustyn and her almost 2 year old son Camdyn came to visit from Florida. You walked to the Mt. Laurel pizza place & had lunch with your mom & Dustyn while I kept Camdyn. You were quite grown up! That night I sat with you and your mom while your mom put you to bed. You have added a sweet part to your bedtime routine when you & your mom "talk a little bit". You want to have your new Barbie Doll with you while you read a book about Barbie the Gymnist and you want to hold Olivia while you read a book about her pretending to be in the circus. Although you finally go to sleep well you really like to drag it out as much as possible! On Sunday we went to celebrate the holidays with Sabba Raffi and Granna in Jasper. You were very sweet and got lots of presents and had fun. There are a lot of people who love you a lot! On Monday you and I went to see the new version of the musical Annie. We went to the 10:30 am show and there were very few people there. It was the most fun I can remember having at a movie! You enjoyed it so much and sang along with some of the songs and really paid attention to it. We stayed through all of the credits and I would have stayed and watched it again with you if we could have! On Tuesday you joyfully took the last dose of your antibiotic. We met your mom for lunch at Zoe's in Homewood then I met you at TCBY in Homewood after I had a doctor's appointment and took you home while your mom had a hair appointment! On the way home was another sweet time while you sang along with your "old favorites" on the Toddler Tunes CD we listened to a lot when you were younger. After we got home your new neighbors (one house down) came over to play for awhile. Carlie is 4 years old and maybe she'll be a long term play mate. Tata & Sabba Koplan kept you while I went to the Greystone Y. Wednesday, December 31 your mom had to work. Nitza came over and played with you while I walked the dogs & grocery shopped. After she left we enjoyed watching Frozen together and I tried unsuccessfully to get you to nap in the bed with me. You were very sweet at bedtime until fireworks started going off in the neighborhood! It was hard for you to go to sleep. But you finally did and 2014 quietly ended and 2015 began! On New Year's Day your mom had to work again and we learned your Dad's return was going to be delayed due to bad weather. You visited at Nitza's for a few hours on New Year's Day and went to Starlight Lake and had a great time with her. Both Auburn and Alabama lost their Bowl games!  Because you took a nap and your mom was able to leave work a little early you were very happy to have your mom put you to bed Friday night! You have a wonderful mother! On Friday I took Sunday to the local dog groomer for a bath and your mom & I took you to buy some "twirly skirts" at the local children's clothes shop where you also bought some mittens you loved! Then we went to Chuck E Cheese for lunch & play time. You like to play & eat there, but you don't like Chuck E! You missed a nap but went to bed early. During the night your father came home so even though your mom had to go to work Saturday morning you were very happy to see your Dad after you woke up. I packed up and headed home to stay until the next time I get to come to your house. Although the "non-routine" of holidays was a good change-of-pace for you, it will be good to have you back in your routine of school and regular wake up & bed times. You have a wonderful school and wonderful friends and wonderful parents & a wonderful house...and a Granny who loves you and is so grateful to be a part of your wonderful life! Looking forward to many good times with you in 2015!



At Chuck E Cheese in new Twirly Skirt!

Christmas Day presents

New Mittens!

Your first Barbie Doll!!

Snack at Galleria Mall with Tata

Lunch at Chace Lake Tazki's

After wonderful time at movie with you!!!

New trampoline!!

Visit with Sabba Raffi in Jasper

Words to song!

I know you'll be playing & singing one day!

Dec 4-1st bath by Granny at new house!