SOLSC 2022 #21 Time for my nap

 

It is March 2022 and time for the

 15th Annual Slice of Life Story Challenge  

Every single day, for all thirty-one days of March,

writers will share stories.

Thank you, Two Writing Teachers, for creating this supportive community 

of teacher-writers!

I scoot to the side so that she can get by me, only to have her stop right at my feet and pat my thigh with her sweet little hand. I look down at her, and she looks up at me, raising her arms so that I might pick her up. 

"Oh, I get to have a hug?! You little sweetie," and I scoop up my youngest granddaughter ("Bird"), who is sixteen months old. 

The adults are gathered around my dining room table, in a the midst of a big discussion that has nothing to do with little Bird. She had been playing with toys to the side, but then had come to find me.

"What do you want, sweetie? What are you trying to tell me?" I ask. 

She leans her head to one side, and waves at the adults at the table.

"Oh! It is time for your nap, isn't it? Did you want me to put you to bed?," I interpret.

Bird gives me a tired smile. Yes, I am right! 

This little one amazes me. When it comes to sleep, she knows what she needs. 

We wave goodbye to everyone and I carry her up the stairs to her porta crib, her bed at our house, and move through the nap routine, all the while narrating - 

"Here's your bedroom, 

here is the fan - let's turn this on, 

let's close the shades so that you will have a nice dark room for sleeping, 

let's turn on your sound machine, and 

here's your sleep sack, let's zip it up, 

there are your bedtime buddies - 

it's elephant and fish and your animal book, too. 

Here you go, sweetie." 

Then I hold her close and she holds me, too, and I gently sway and sing, "go to sleep, go to sleep, go to sleep little one." I lay her down with one last kiss on the forehead, and Bird makes not a peep, just gives me a sweet soft smile. 

I am out the door, closing it gently behind me. Back downstairs, I look through the monitor and I see her looking at her animal board book for a minute or two, and then she puts it down and slips off to sleep. So precious.

I shake my head in amazement. How often have I overextended my awake hours, ignoring the pleas from my body and mind? 

I have lots to learn from her. 

SOLSC 2022 #7 - View from the Window

 

It is March 2022 and time for the

 15th Annual Slice of Life Story Challenge  

Every single day, for all thirty-one days of March,

writers will share stories.

Thank you, Two Writing Teachers, for creating this supportive community 

of teacher-writers!

We've been creating a whimsy tree here at Nana Poppa's house, just outside the window where Frog and Bird's play table rests.  Just last week, we added another windchime - a gift from a great aunt. 

There's a lot going on in this tree, and I suspect we've only just begun. There are a couple bird houses, a couple windchimes, a bright shiny whirligig of a suncatcher that sends rays of light racing through our family room. We set the Halloween pumpkin at the base of the tree and we are watching it decay. Poppa allowed me to drag our Christmas tree out here, to the base of the tree, so that we might watch the birds and squirrels hide and play within. 

I love the view from inside the house. The girls can perch right at windowsill and watch the action.

(staged photo - it's never this calm when Frog & Bird are present! hahaha)

Honestly, this whimsy tree is not just for the grandkids. I get so much delight from this little nook of our yard, too. This morning we have our first 'warm' morning in many months, and I opened the window for a bit of fresh air - only to be met by the gaze of a little bird from inside the birdhouse! 

Her little head filled the hole, 

looked about, 

looked at me, 

popped back inside. 

Then she popped out again 

met my eyes a second time

pulled back in. 

Repeat performance a few more times 

then she flew out

to the top of the tree,

singing

 

and simultaneously - as if choreographed -

one, 

two, 

three, 

four 

mourning doves descended on the tree. 

One perched on a branch very close to where I stared out -

and I was mesmerized

noticing

up close

so much more color and variation beyond the gray I would have insisted on

there's gray tan khaki white brown peach olive black 

I've never noticed how narrow her head

the soft wrinkle of inexplicably short feathers at her neck

as she tilts her head from side to side

intent and wondering, this tilt

Spring is coming! 

Frog and Bird and I will be watching.

SOL21 Slice 30: Gift of a day

 

I am participating in the

 Slice of Life Story Challenge (SOL21).  

All participants are sharing stories about moments in their lives, writing 

 every day for the month of March 2021.

Thank you, Two Writing Teachers, for nurturing teacher-writers!

I just spent an absolutely beautiful day babysitting my granddaughters (2 1/2 years old and 5 months old). It was a day that begged to be spent outside every possible moment. So fabulous! Here's a little ditty of a poem that I wrote as the two little ones were napping in the late afternoon, telling the story of our day.

Outside This Day Must Be

Tender breeze and bright soft sun

No jacket or sweaters to wear 

First day like this we've seen

Outside this day must be

Make a pile of pretty rocks

Pull weed flowers from the lawn 

Look closer at buds in the tree

Outside this day must be

Into the wheelbarrow you go

Around and around we run

Bumps and curves met with glee

Outside this day must be

Bring out the chalk and draw

How about we roll down the hill?

Now for some hide and seek

Outside this day must be

Spread the blanket on the lawn

Here's a snack for just us two

Lay here right next to me

Outside this day must be

Was there ever a sky so blue?

Have you seen two birds play chase?

Did you know ants can lift seeds?

Outside this day must be

"I don't remember who said this,

but there really are 

places in the heart you don't even know exist

until you love a child"

- Anne Lamott

SOL21 Slice 16: Making a musical

 

I am participating in the

 Slice of Life Story Challenge (SOL21).  

All participants are sharing stories about moments in their lives, writing 

 every day for the month of March 2021.

Thank you, Two Writing Teachers, for nurturing teacher-writers!

I should give an update on how things are going with babysitting the grandchildren, Frog (28 months) and Bird (4 months). In a word: WONDERFUL! Little Bird is now fully adjusted to having her Nana and Poppa around; we have even heard her coo (there is nothing sweeter than this). It is as if she got her discomfort out of the way in that one long day at the outset, as I wrote about in my very first slice of this month.

So, here we are, a couple weeks into this new babysitting schedule, where we watch the children while our son and daughter-in-law work. Thank you, pandemic, for this strange phenomenon - four adults, two little ones, all caught up in one another all day long. It's mind-blowing to realize that similar scenes are repeated in so many work-at-home families throughout the world, during this pandemic - long days of everyone underfoot and in each other's business. We are lucky that we share babysitting duties with the other grandparents, and we all live close enough that we can split the children up some days, vary the schedule a bit, so that we are not always all of us on top of each other. (Yes, how lucky this young family is, to have all four of the grandparents living nearby and able to pitch in). 

Tuesdays are an 'all together' day. This is quite the dance: the grandparents must find a way to be fun and entertaining, while assuring that the wee ones are relatively quiet, all day long, as Mama and Dada are working. 

I think, post-pandemic, someone should make a musical of these days, and I have been thinking of some of the tunes to guide the action:

The pandemic's ability to shrink living space should not be minimized. Although the house was plenty big enough before, it is considerably smaller since March 2020, almost bursting at its seams. Dada takes the basement for his telework, Mama starts at the dining room table and then squirrels away to another room when the noise is too disruptive. (As in, when the children are not napping.) To set the scene, I hear the Talking Heads singing "Once in a Lifetime,"

you may find yourself living in a shotgun shack

you may find yourself in another part of the world . . .

you may ask yourself, 'how did I get here?' . . .

you may ask yourself, 'how do I work this?' . . .

same as it ever was . . . same as it ever was . . . same as it ever was . . .

I'm not entirely sure what the plot of this musical is, certainly it needs to show the pivoting of the adults all day long, as we bounce from room to room, making lunches, finding shoes and jackets to get the kids outdoors. (Cue those fun opening notes of David Bowie, "Let's Dance") There will definitely be stressful moments. A lot of the time, the parents can wear earbuds and work quietly, silencing the noise of the world around them, the chaos literally at their feet. But then, Frog will try to get downstairs to play in the basement while Dada is in court, via telework. (He's a lawyer - I mean, c'mon, being a lawyer from one's basement? Which kid is playing make-believe? It seems so funny to me that we can conduct so much business from our homes.) 

So, let's consider a medley of music -

The Beatles, "Hello/Goodbye" 

You say yes, I say no

You say stop and I say go go go, oh no

Stealer's Wheel, "Stuck in the Middle"

I've got the feeling that something ain't right

I'm so scared in case I fall off my chair,

And I'm wondering how I'll get down the stairs

Clowns to the left of me! Jokers to the right!

Here I am stuck in the middle with you.

Rolling Stone, "Mixed Emotions"

You're not the only one with mixed emotions

You're not the only ship adrift on this ocean

The day flies by. 

Maybe I need to add a little clip of The Pretenders, "Stop Your Sobbin'" for those tiny booboos that happen, or when a diaper needs to be changed, you'd hear a bit of Britney Spears "Oops I Did It Again." 

I should definitely include a little Otis Redding, "Try A Little Tenderness" - this song is magic!

Of course, the musical ends happily and harmony is restored, with a slightly revised version of Dusty Springfield crooning "Wishin' and Hopin'":

So if you're lookin' to find love you can share

All you gotta do is hold 'em, and kiss 'em and love 'em

And show 'em that you care

Show 'em that you care just for 'em

Do the things they like to do

This draft of a musical is just beginning to come together...I'll have to think on it some more! 

Truth is, we're all working together to make these days work. It is really a blessing to be able to see and be with family during these endless days of pandemic, to be able to support one another.  

"Music is a great healer. Begin and end your day with music."

- Lailah Gifty Akita

SOL21 Slice 1: I don't know you

I am participating in the

 Slice of Life Story Challenge (SOL21).  

All participants are sharing stories about moments in their lives, writing 

 every day for the month of March 2021.

Thank you, Two Writing Teachers, for nurturing teacher-writers!

As soon as we arrived at their house, my daughter-in-law handed the baby to me to hold. "Bird" is four months old now, and we don't get to sit and be with her enough. Her big sister ("Frog") receives the bulk of our attention - because that is what two year olds do, demand (and receive) attention. 

I was so excited to sit and be with Bird.

Not a moment into this sweet holding, she locked eyes with me, 

her lips quivered, 

her jaw trembled, 

there were these multitudinous wrenching wiggles of her lips, 

her entire body tensed up and became rigid, 

stiff arms and legs and back, 

I thought to myself - oh no, oh no, oh no! 

and then, yes,

she let out the most enormous wail of horror - as if screaming, YOU ARE NOT MY MOTHER!! 

and she continued to cry and cry and cry.

Oh my. 

I had happily anticipated holding this sweet baby, but this was not the image I had in mind. It is not fun to hold a crying baby. 

Clearly, we do NOT spend enough time with the baby.

This week, my daughter-in-law is back to work after maternity leave, and we are the babysitters a couple days a week. What is THIS going to be like? Thus, the weekend visit, to spend a little more time alongside both children, helping Bird to acclimate to us. There we were, lined up on the couch - Dad, Poppa, me (Nana), and Mom, all focused on this wee baby. Yes, grandparents in the middle, holding the wailing Bird, with her parents on each side of us, four adults all trying to soothe her, trying to give her the love and support she needed, trying to reassure her that all will be well. Let's use some 'asset-based' analysis: Bird has amazing stamina! Such perseverance! Tenacity! Wow, she will not be ignored! These traits will serve her well throughout her life, yes? 

I was reminded of all those preschoolers on the first days of school, crying at saying goodbye to their families (back before virtual...before every preschooler had their loved ones right there at their side for the morning...oh, imagine the challenge of separating these children from families in the days to come, when schools are back 'to normal,' what will that be like?). I said to Bird, tenderly, "Oh, little Bird, you need to know, I have had years and years of little ones who see my face and cry, and then, after a while, they learn to love me; I love you, little one, I do; you will learn to love me, I promise you, I promise you!" Mom and Dad tried to soothe, too - "You're okay, you're okay. Yes, yes, we are right here, too. You're okay."

Her little rigid body really fascinated me - 

such a clear visual of what we all do when stressed. 

Her entire body in tight, fixed position, like a wooden board.

How many of us are carrying our bodies like this, throughout this pandemic, every single day?

So much that is new and hard. So much that is unclear. So much that is scary and grief-filled. 

How locked up are we? The neck, shoulders, back...I suspect we move through the days carrying this extra weight of tension, at the ready.

Everyone, 

reading this, 

relax those shoulders, 

take a deep cleansing breath, 

let out all the tension you are holding. 

You know you are!

Here's my hope, that the Two Writing Teachers' Slice of Life Story Challenge will be the deep cleansing breath we all need, the tension release, the letting go of all that has us locked up. We are one full calendar year into this pandemic, the virtual learning, the isolation. Last March, this was all just beginning, we had no real idea what the future held. 

We have been 

and are 

holding so much. 

Here's an excerpt from my post on the last day of the March 2020 challenge: 

There's something very grounding about this Slice of Life Challenge every March, and, particularly, this March, 2020. We have held each other up, we have shared our stories, and we have documented our personal history of this pandemic. I am so appreciative of this writing community. . . 

I hope you find this challenge - this practice - to be grounding, as well. This is my tenth year of participation in this blogging challenge, and I have learned through the years that ordinary moments, these slices of life, are illuminating. When I hone in on something, write 'into' the story, and try to describe in detail, I always end up somewhere else, better. Writing takes me there. To share these small moments with this community is so gratifying. 

One final note - I was able to comfort Bird, she did stop crying. I changed my hold of her, positioning her so that she was more or less sitting on my lap, looking not at me, but "out" at the room. She relaxed. We'll introduce her to my face over time - lol! - but for now, we'll accept where she's at, let her think I don't exist. hahahaha

Here's to the month of March and lots of writing ahead!

Listen, are you breathing just a little and calling it a life?

- Mary Oliver