And the Beat Goes On!

If there is one thing in life I would like to do over, it would be wishing, on my children, children of their own that are just like them. See, we, as parents, do that without considering the consequences of the wish coming true. If I had had any idea of the amount of time I would be spending with those children, or the possibility of them acting anything like their fathers, I would have made a totally different wish! I would have wished for quiet, well behaved children that always obeyed without being told more than once. Children who never thought to pull pranks on each other, especially in Church! Children who always brought out the best in ME! But, no! I had to say, "I hope when you grow up you have kids that are just like you! Then you'll understand why I get so upset!" Well, that wish came true, and I have paid dearly for it over the years.

Like the time Kevin and Diana went on some wonderful vacation and left me at home with their two boys, Andrew and Daniel. Daniel was still in preschool at the time, and Andrew first grade. I had had quite the week with those two boys! It was the last day I had to get them off to school, and it wasn't going well. I was trying to get them dressed. They were jumping on the livingroom sofa like it was a trampolene. Nothing I said or did seemed to dissuade them. They didn't care that time was slipping away, or that there was a good chance both of them would be late for school. And, they certainly could have cared less that they were not supposed to use the sofa as a trampolene. My voice, getting louder by the second, was completely drowned out by the screaming and laughing and jumping.

Finally, in total desperation, I grabbed one boy, smacked his little bum and sat him down on the couch. Then I grabbed the other little boy and followed the same proceedure with him. For a brief moment there was total silence as they tried to make sense of what had just happened. I had never laid a finger on either of them in their lives. When the reality set in that Grandma had actually spanked them (just one small swat, I assure you) Andrew just sat there with a look of total disbelief on his face. Daniel began to wail!

As the tears flowed, Daniel cried, "Grandma, you made me very sad!" With that, the tears began to flow from my eyes, as well. Immediately Daniel stopped crying. He, too, had a look of disbelief on his face. "Grandma, why are you crying?" he asked. Through the tears I said, "Because you made me very sad!" Andrew came close to me, put his little arm around my neck and drew me as closely to himself as possible. With a soft, kind voice he said to me, "It's okay, Grandma. Our mom cries a lot, too."

This morning crying was not the problem. Well, maybe, in a way, but inadvertently. You see we had a carry in dinner after church today. Michaelle, Randy's wife,was in charge of the kitchen and organizing and setting up the food tables in the fellowship hall. She had recruited Randy to help and asked if Trevor and Aaron could sit with me in church. Corey stayed in the kitchen with Mom and Dad. Once in the sanctuary, Aaron decided he wanted to sit with Daniel across the aisle from Trevor and me. Uncle Kevin said it was fine, so I agreed.

Trevor was being so good! And so was Aaron until he decided he wanted to sit with us after all. Across the aisle he came. From the moment he sat down, I knew he was in the ornery mode. He hadn't done anything yet. It just sort of radiated out of him. He had a few little stickers I assume he was given by his Sunday school teacher. I watched as he took one and stuck it to the hair on the side of Trevor's head a couple of inches above the ear. Tevor has a short crew cut, so I thought the sticker would just peel right off without any effort.

Aaron reached up and pulled the sticker off of Trevor's head. I was so wrong! That sticker stuck quite well on that short hair. And, when peeled off, it sounded just like a band aid coming off of a hairy arm! The sound could be heard for rows ahead and behind! Trevor looked at me in total shock, as did Aaron! The looks on their faces did something to tickle my funny bone. I wanted to get angry, to really let Aaron have it for doing such a thing! But, I could not control the laughter. I laughed so hard the tears began streaming down my cheeks. Every time I looked at Aaron with the intention of giving him a verbal reprimand, I started laughing uncontrollably again. My shoulders shook, the tears flowed, I was a mess!

Finally I was able to gain enough self control to look Aaron straight in the eyes and tell him that after church he was going to apologize to the people behind us for interrupting their worship! Aaron turned around to see those people, then turned back to me. As serious as a heart attack he asked, "Just those three, or all of 'em?" I was gone again!