Checking on Papa's Tomatoes
The first day of June I stayed with Willow while Lyla & Angela went
to the zoo. I enjoy time alone with Willow. I like to observe her on the
camera. It’s still amazing to me how parents can see & hear their children,
and even push a button & talk to them remotely! When Angela was a baby
there were not even audio monitors. What was actually going on while babies
were in bed was a mystery! Today I watched Willow study her hands intently before
going to sleep. Hands are amazing things…and her hands are going to do many
amazing things. She is now eating all sorts of food-fresh & from pouches. I think she
will eat as well as Lyla does. Angela & Brock are so good at establishing healthy
eating & sleeping habits for both girls. I admire that. On Wednesday I got to spend time
at the park with Lyla before I went home. On Friday, June 3 Angela wasn’t
feeling well & I stayed with Willow while Lyla & her Dad went to the
McWayne center. Lyla went home with me & we watched the movie Annie before
we went to sleep in the sofa bed in the den. Saturday she watched the movies we
got at the Mt. Laurel Library & also cleaned my house! She really did an
amazing job cleaning the floor & washing windows. And seemed to enjoy
it. I was very impressed! We ate outside at Taziki’s before taking her home
that evening. On Tuesday, June 7 Hillary Clinton won the Democratic nomination
for President. Although she won’t officially be nominated until the convention
this summer, she won enough pledged delegates to win. I was surprised at the
emotions I felt as I heard her speak about being the first woman to be
nominated. Women only got the right to voite in 1920-the year my Mother was born. Hopefully Hillary will win in November & we will have the first
woman president. Many things have changed for women in my lifetime. For example,
only shortly before Angela was born medical expenses associated
with prenatal care & labor & delivery were first covered by medical insurance. That was
something important that President Jimmy Carter made happen. When I was growing up girls had
to wear dresses to school. And no schools had sports teams for girls. On Wednesday
the 8th I kept Willow while Angela worked & Brock went to the gym etc. &
Lyla went to summer school. I always enjoy giving Willow a bottle &
watching her fall asleep while I am holding her. Lyla had swimming lessons at the Y this week. On
Thursday I stayed with Willow while Angela went out & Lyla went to swim
lessons with her Dad. Friday I got Lyla after school & we went to Treetop
to play (she didn’t like it very much) & got DVDs at the library & went
to Brookwood Mall where she picked out a Barbie doll for herself & a sweet toy
for Willow. Because Lyla was coughing a lot & didn’t seem to feel well she spent all day Saturday in bed watching movies. I get an ache in my chest when
Lyla doesn't feel well. It is the same ache I used to feel when your Mother got
sick. I guess it’s part of being a mother (and a grandmother); you hurt when
your child hurts. Late Saturday night there was a horrible shooting in Orlando
where about 50 people were injured & another 50 died. A lot of mothers
& grandmothers were having terrible heartaches. I didn’t go to Angela's house
again until Wednesday June 15 when Angela went to work. Lyla rode to school in
the carrier behind Brock's bicycle. She & Willow are going to have many exciting outside
adventures with their Dad! Wednesday evening I took Lyla to swim lessons while
Brock took Willow to the doctor because she had a fever. She was very sweet
but refused to jump into the water. She just gently shook her head "no" but was
very determined not to jump in. And she didn’t. I admired her polite determination! Thursday
I stayed with Willow while Lyla & parents went to the dentist. Rain
caused swimming to be canceled. Lyla started coughing & wheezing which
resulted in a doctor’s visit Friday morning. After school Friday we went to see
the movie Finding Dorrie (a sequel to Finding Nemo). It was “just okay”. There
was a rainstorm afterwards. We went to Toys R Us where Lyla picked out a bridal dress as
a gift. She coughed during the night but slept okay. Saturday afternoon
Kristina & Maggie Rae & Eli arrived and we went to Let’s Play then ate
with Papa for Father’s Day at the Full Moon Barbeque. Then Lyla had a rough
night of coughing despite medication so Sunday morning I took her to the doctor
who started Prednisone which helped a lot. She bravely swallowed
the nasty tasting medicine! I stayed & helped Brock with Willow until her afternoon nap. On Monday I took Lyla to play with
Maddie at her house while her parents packed for the family trip to visit Nitza
& Koplan in Florida. Lyla had a great time at Maddie's. I spent the night at their house & early
Tuesday morning I dropped all four at the airport. Another month with
Lyla & Willow ended. I went to visit my mother & then to the beach with
a friend & didn’t get to see the girls again until July 3. Since I’m writing this
on July 5, I have finally caught up with my blog. It seems the 8 months I’ve
caught up on have flown by. There is an adage about time which seems related to
raising children…”The days crawl by, but the years they fly”. Since I think Willow
is the last grandbaby I will have, it is somewhat sad to think soon I won’t
have a little baby to hold & rock. But I know there are many good &
precious times ahead. I seem to use this blog to journal the objective parts of
the times I spend with Willow & Lyla. But as I recall the specific events I
can always recall the deep feelings I felt when Willow smiles when she sees me
& when Lyla runs to hug me calling out “Granny!” Although Lyla is 4 years
older than Willow and my sister is 5 years older than I am, it is a very
similar span of time. I was born April & my older sister in March similar
to Lyla being born in September & Willow in October. Having a sister is a
good thing. Being able to watch Willow & Lyla grow up is an exceptionally
good thing. 2016 is half over…Your mom just sent a picture of Willow almost
crawling…where does the time go? I'm not sure but fortunately I keep a lot of it in my heart.
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