I haven't done Balki's Dance Of Joy (Bronson Pinchot - "Perfect Strangers") for many years, but I have been known to do it. When my kids were in school, it happened yearly in the latter half of August. It was nice to not have to worry what they were doing at home while I was at work!
But this morning, for the first time in a long time (my youngest one graduated high school in 2000), I did the Dance Of Joy......and I think Hubby probably joined me, at least in spirit.
Today, as I sit in the quiet house and relax, a few guilt feelings slip in......Am I a terrible grandmother? We've been taking care of two of the grandkids this week while their parents are on a cruise. The fourteen-year-old has been fine. He mostly stays in his lower level paradise, where he has his own bedroom, bathroom, and TV with gaming system. We envy him.
The four-year-old went to Day Care today - hence, THE DANCE OF JOY!!!!! (Also, hence the envy for the 14-year-old......we'd join him, except going up and down the stairs is hard on us!) I made sure the day care teacher had my cell number, just in case.....however, I told her I might not pick up!! She laughed - they knew we had the four-year-old this week.
Don't get me wrong - she's a wonderful child........a wonderful child who's 4, who has a vivid imagination, and who goes non-stop. One of her favorite games seems to be "pretend like nobody else is talking". I've resorted to counting when she's pushed that one too far.
The really fun part has been watching her bond with Grandpa. They've liked each other from the beginning, but she's just not had the bonding opportunity. Yesterday, she wouldn't leave his side. He took her for a bike ride - walking beside while she rode her little bike with training wheels on the neighborhood sidewalks. He pushed her on the swing.......amazing how she knew how to swing herself last summer but doesn't remember how this week! He also twirled her on the swing - did what he eloquently called "the twist of death" with the swing, then let it go so she twirled back around. It was a mild afternoon, so she spent at least an hour and a half in her pool. It wasn't as much fun when both of us objected to being shot with a water pistol.
This child has had a massive amount of hair since she was born. It's been cut a few times, and still it's almost down to her waist. I've kept the de-tangler handy. Today is Water Day at day care, so she got to go in her swimsuit. Silly me, I thought her hair should be up so it wouldn't be in her face (also so I didn't have to deal with that this evening, when there are a short two hours between day care and dance class). However, I was quickly informed that "I look cute with my hair down". So, the hair is down. Hopefully the dance teachers don't care if her hair's perfect, as long as it's "up".
Have I mentioned my problems with the technology? There are high def TV's in this house, with a DVR network. Hmmm. The first night we were here, I managed to screw up two tv's. Hubby fixed the one in our bedroom, and grandson did what he could with the one in the living room. We still can't access the network, though, with all the recorded shows. Which is all the four-year-old wants to watch. Every day has started with "I want to watch Max and Ruby". "We can't." "Whyyyyyy?" "Because Grandma messed up the TV...you'll have to wait until Daddy comes home." There's nothing like technology to make a grown person feel stupid.
Don't get me wrong - this has been a wonderful week and a great time with the kids. But we both know when we limp back into our own quiet little house on Saturday, it may takes us days before we feel normal again! And it will be so quiet, not hearing anyone say, "But I don't WANT to"!! Maybe I'll say that to hubby a few times, so he doesn't miss the four-year-old too much!!! ;)
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