Catch!

I detest talking on the phone but I adore phone conversations that go like this:

3yoPN (robot name for Three-Year-Old Pumpkin Niece): "You gonna come ovah and play wid me now??”

Me: “Oh, honey, I wish that I could but it takes me a long time to get there. Remember how I live far away?”

3yoPN, either in sheer denial or with alarming, sudden hearing loss: “You gonna come now?”

Me: “I can’t. I’ve got to stay here for now and take care of Baxter. Remember, Baxter, my cat?”

3yoPN, suddenly turning into a miniature mother hen: “Don’t worry. You can bring your titty tat with.”

Me, stifling myself and secretly hoping she will never be able to pronounce her K’s: “Oh, wouldn’t that be nice if I could? But I can’t, honey. Remember how I told you he doesn’t play well with other kitties? He’s such a silly scaredy cat! He’d be soooo scared of your kitty!”

3yoPN, in continuous denial (wonder where she gets this):“It’s otay, Auntie Waitzel. You come ovah and bring your titty tat, too.”

Upon the third, “I wish I could but I can’t,” she suddenly accepted this with an “Otay, BYE!” and pretty much dropped the phone on the floor.

Although I relish the fact that my niece wanted nothing more at that moment than for me to come ovah, I also love that she didn’t dwell on the bad news that I couldn’t make that happen at the drop of a hat. Throughout the years, I’ve learned tons from little ones and I am probably most jealous of their ability to forgive and move on. Now don’t get me wrong, I realize that they also have little sponge-like memories that can result in tantrums that go something like: “BUT YOU TOLD ME I COULD WATCH MY DORA MOVIE IF I WENT PEE PEE ON THE POTTY ALL DAY!” However, I’m often shocked how these tiny people who have only been on this planet a few short years can understand and accept abstract concepts.

On many occasions, I’ve had the very unfortunate experience of promising something to a child that I cannot ultimately deliver. I'm quite sure that noothing makes you feel like a bigger schmuck.

“Peanut, I know I told you that if you acted like a quiet little mouse during library time, I’d take you out for a Cowabunga Crazy Ice Cream Sundae With Rainbow Confetti afterward but ummm…I guess Cowabunga’s is closed today. I'm sorry.”

Cue the puzzled expression, the wrinkled brow, perhaps even some tears. And if they’re old enough, they might just make you suffer for it. However, an amazing number of little ones have picked up on my genuine sorrow at times like these, responding with a simple “It’s okay” while proceeding to build a tower of blocks.

And unlike the grown-ups around them who will dredge up crap from the past and sling it during a much different argument, you’ll rarely hear a preschooler remind you that you dropped the ball with Cowabunga’s two years ago or that you really "disappointed" them when you couldn’t come “ovah.” Instead they are just so happy to see you right now at this moment. The past isn’t such a big deal and there’s no point in worrying about tomorrow. Today is here and she’s got a ball that she wants to toss to you. Now. So catch. It’s the only ball she doesn’t want you to drop right now.

Holy Snow

I've lived in Wisconsin most of my life so you'd think I'd be used to snowstorms at this point. Yet that monster that hit us the other day? Unbelievable. I cannot remember the last time I have seen so much snow. It was reminiscent of those stories that ended with "And then after our chores, we'd walk eight miles to school through twenty foot drifts. We weren't like these wimpy kids today."

Pajama clad with coffee in hand, I watched from my window as the plow came through and created a two foot fence of sorts alongside my car. I just laughed. Where else was all this snow going to go?

Later in the day, I joined in on the neighborhood camaraderie, digging out my car amidst the buzz of snow blowers and the scraping of shovels on concrete. The shoveling was actually not as bad as I had suspected. (Someone can tell you, though, that I whined for a good hour about my impending pain and suffering before I actually got out there. And yes, my muscles now feel as though someone took a club to my back.) Luckily, though, the snow wasn't that awful, heavy wet stuff. Plus I think that all those years, lifting chunky babies has actually done something for my upper body strength.

Also, the weather was surprisingly mild. Sunny and still. I wasn't even wearing a hat for God's sake and I'm always cold. I found that I didn't even mind the shoveling. Good exercise. Plus there was a pang of "I am woman, hear me roar" as I dug out my entire car by myself. But then I heard some birds singing and my heart sunk.

So let me get this right. We just had a blizzard which included disconcerting crashes of thunder and yet twelve hours later, I could hear the birds? And this was only twelve hours before the temperature plummeted to wind chills of minus twenty? But according to some, the way we have treated our planet has no way led to such odd changes in worldwide climate. (Umm, didn't Texas even get hit with a good chunk of this storm?)

Now I'm not going to attribute every snowstorm to global warming and climate change but have you ever heard your parents talk about what the weather was like when they were kids? I know for the Midwest, the previous generation paints a very different picture. I find it both fascinating and heartbreaking. I'd like to hear the birds sometime in March, thank you very much. And as long as the snow isn't coming in July, I can handle it. Thank God it's so darn pretty.

Travel Tips

Seems appropriate on a day like today (with a blizzard yet to come) to pass this info on. And my condolences to anyone who gets stranded at LaGuardia. Blech.