Can we talk?

A Family Gathering

         Holy moley! What four kids age 2 to 6 can do! They dumped out all the toys that Great Grandpa keeps for them. They played with my computer, my musical keyboard, and my I-pod without permission, but their parents never stopped them. Magazines and crushed crayons are everywhere. After they left, I found inside toys on the back porch by accident.

         During dinner, there were toy cars on the dinner table, and plastic Easter eggs under foot when you stood. (I knew I should have thrown those out instead of putting in the toy box.) With two adults standing nearby after everyone ate and played outside, someone knocked over the floor lamp, breaking four light bulbs and sending sparks everywhere. It looked like a fire was about to start, but it stopped when someone unplugged the lamp.

         That was cleaned up, but we went downstairs to get away from possible glass on the floor. Three girls and one boy, with their three mothers, were downstairs with me. The men stayed upstairs. These children made such loud cacophony and wrestled together like wild animals. I was on the floor to play a card game with the six year old, so they did tumble over me a time or two.

         When they were so tired, they had gotten cranky (yes, they got worse), they were packed up to go home. Parting is a long drawn out process. They're trying to teach the children to say good-bye and thank you. One or two did well, but two were definitely rebelling. Clearly, I was exhausted when they left. I still had to run the dishwasher, and scrub some pots, mop the floor, and try to tidy up a bit. I fell asleep for 10 minutes in a chair. The vacuuming can wait until tomorrow.

         Here's the thing. They are not my grandchildren. They are my father's grandchild and great grandchildren. I can't correct any of them or their parents. I can't complain about the adults not carrying their dirty glasses to the kitchen or dumping their trash or putting their chairs back in place. I don't want to offend them because they are family. I want them to come again. The children will grow up. I will be old and they won't be interested in visiting an aunt or great-aunt, once my dad is gone. So I try to enjoy my time with them while I have them. Despite everything, I am quite fond of them.