How the Rabbits Turned Out

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This Velvet Bunny pattern turned out better than the Valentine Bears I crocheted earlier this year. The grandkids hugged the rabbits as happily as they hugged the bears, but I felt better about how the rabbits turned out. The bears ended up having wobbly necks. Thankfully, Hugs Straighten Everything Out and the kids didn’t seem to mind that the bears were not perfect nor did they notice any imperfections of the rabbits.

The pattern (link above) was easy to follow and had many pictures to help the process. I didn’t embroider a nose, as indicated in the pattern, but used the safety eyes and nose instead. Next I plan to crochet a doll! We will see how that turns out. 🙂

And in today already walks tomorrow. ~Samuel Taylor Coleridge

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Best Greeting Committee Ever!

I slowly drove down the bumpy alley on the way to my daughter and her family’s house. Kona’s barks echoed throughout the neighborhood the moment I turned into their driveway. Kona is their beautiful German Shepherd with a multicolored coat. Kona’s loud woof caused Jimmy and Jack, the dogs next door, to join along in the canine chorus.

“Hi, Kona,” I said, even though I didn’t have the door opened yet. In the distance, at the patio door, I saw my grandson opening and closing the door and jumping up and down at varying intervals. His arm briefly swung out the door in a wave. His little sister did her hopping up and down motion, while her mother tried to hang onto her in her arms. I’ve discovered that holding Granddaughter while she is jumping is not an easy task. Next time I looked, Granddaughter was mimicking Grandson’s hop, except her hop was from bended knees. It looked like her mom couldn’t hold onto her any more.

I opened the car door to see Kona by my side. She backed away and pointed her front legs towards me in a little jump. I got my stuff out, closed the door and headed towards the house. Usually, during this time of year, there would be lots of snow on the ground, but there wasn’t any. Kona did a little duty on the lawn, which she always does after company arrives. It’s good when the duty is on the lawn and not on the rugs in the house!

Kona escorted me towards the door, where I was hugged by Grandson. It was a grab at the knees sort of hug. I put down my stuff so I could give him a proper hug, as Granddaughter waited her turn. I gave my daughter a quick peck on the cheek and reached down to pick up Granddaughter. Granddaughter reached up to me with a little jump, both arms and hands pointed up. I picked her up and held her close as we smiled at each other.

I kissed her little cheek, and she said, “Grandma,” as soft as could be. I’ve heard her say Grandma two other times. How could my heart not jump for joy?

Best Greeting Committee Ever. ❤️

Jumping for joy is good exercise. ~Author unknown

The Cheese Song

Photo by Ylanite Koppens on Pexels.com

After our first grandchild was born, I was lucky to take care of beautiful baby boy (BBB) off and on for about two weeks while his parents were at work.  I made up a song about BBB and called it “Beautiful Baby Boy.”  The song goes like this:  “Beautiful baby boy, beautiful baby boy, La, La, La, La, beautiful baby boy,” which is too short.  I remembered a much longer song my classmates and I used to sing when we went on field trips in ninth grade.  It was something we sang on the bus, and it stuck with me.  

So tiny, I sang “It’s Cheese That Makes the World Go Round” to BBB from the beginning.  One time, when he was at our house and started to fuss while waiting in his little car seat, I sang The Cheese Song to him in front of my kids, and the familiar melody calmed BBB down.  The kids thought it was a silly song and much too long.  I am sure I sang it to them once or twice when they were little, but they didn’t remember.  It’s a song for grandmas to sing because it goes on forever!

One day, after BBB grew and grew and started to talk, he said, “The Cheese Song,” which made me beyond happy because it makes me think he likes the song, probably because it goes on forever!  Like many toddlers, BBB has figured out how to delay the progression towards nap time.  Now when I get to put BBB down for a nap at our house, BBB and I cuddle in the old wooden rocker that used to be in my own children’s baby bedroom.  BBB and I rock back and forth and the wooden floor boards squeak underneath along with us as we go.  We rock with our hearts facing, in one big hug.  Now it seems like our song isn’t long enough because sometimes, when you think back, hugs seem too short…

There are different renditions of our song on the internet, but the one we know goes like this:

It’s cheese, it’s cheese, it’s cheese that makes the world go round,
It’s cheese, it’s cheese, it’s cheese that makes the world go round,
It’s cheese, it’s cheese, it’s cheese that makes the world go round,
It’s cheese that makes the world go round.

Oh, rolling over the meadow, rolling over the sea, rolling over the
meadow and the deep blue sea, Oh, rolling over the meadow, rolling
over the sea, rolling over the meadow and the deep blue sea.

For the next six rounds, the word “cheese” is replaced with the following words:  mice, cats, dogs, boys, girls, and finally love, so that the final version is “It’s love that makes the world go round.”

Have you ever heard of The Cheese Song?  

I don’t sing because I’m happy; I’m happy because I sing.  ~William James

Where Did She GO?

There were about 15 minutes before the ceremony was about to start. I excused myself and made a beeline towards the bathroom. Grandma suggested I go to the closest one which was in the locker room. When I entered, the one stall was occupied. I waited patiently, hoping the lady would finish soon. The clock was ticking by, minute by minute, and I was afraid I was going to miss the beginning.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” the lady opened the door slowly to see me standing there. “I didn’t know anyone was waiting.”

“That’s okay,” I said, as a bit my lip. Of course someone was waiting. It was a women’s bathroom. Aren’t there always lines at women’s bathrooms whenever there is some sort of event going on, even if it was in a locker room? Other ladies were now waiting their turn, but thankfully they knew it was mine.

I hurried as fast as I could. When I was at the sink washing my hands, I felt like I was missing the beginning. When I got back to the auditorium, I was correct. The young ladies were sashaying in line, one after the other, in two rows. I got close to where my husband was sitting, but I stood to watch the graduates walk towards the front of the auditorium to the special seats waiting just for them.

I kicked myself for not asking Katie, my daughter, which side she was going to be on, and I wondered why she didn’t think to tell me. I didn’t even think to ask her before she handed me her cell phone for safekeeping. I studied each of the faces as they passed by. Everyone looked the same in the black gowns and black caps. I was able to recognize a couple of Katie’s friends as they walked by, but I still couldn’t find Katie.

When all the graduates were done walking in, I went to my seat.

“Where was she? Did you see her?” my husband asked me.  None of the three of us, husband, Grandma or Grandpa saw our graduate walk by.

“I didn’t see her either! Where did she go?” I asked.  Secretly I felt a little better about leaving to visit the bathroom and couldn’t blame that trip for missing the big moment.

“I was looking at their shoes to see if I could find her that way,” said Grandma. That was a good idea since the rest of us were trying to find her face.

We listened to all the speeches and to everyone’s name get announced, but since we were in the back of the room, we think we saw Katie walk up on the stage to get her diploma when we heard her name, but she still looked like everyone else from far away.

When the ceremony was over, the three of us made sure to be extra attentive because this was the day we’d been waiting for. We wanted to see our girl walking by with her diploma in hand. I held my camera steady ready to snap a photo.  We studied each face, or each pair of shoes, as the case may be, and when the graduates passed by, we all looked at each other and asked if we saw her, and again we told each other no.

“How could we miss her again?” Grandma laughed.

We walked up the steps, went outside to see the beautiful sunny day and looked towards the spot where we planned to meet after the ceremony. When we got there, Katie stood at the top of the steps smiling down at us holding her diploma.

“Where were you? We couldn’t find you walking in or out. It reminded me of the time when you were in fifth grade. Remember how you used to hide behind your classmates during the vocal concerts?”  I asked with a smile.

“Mom, I’m so much more mature than that now. I didn’t hide behind anyone. I was there!” We seriously doubted it since we didn’t see her.

A few weeks later, we received a packet in the mail from the company that took pictures of the graduates just after they received their diplomas. When we opened the envelope, we saw a picture of another graduate, not our daughter.

When I told Katie about it, she said, “That happened to everyone. They messed up everyone’s pictures.”

Receiving that envelope made us more suspicious about Katie’s whereabouts that day!  But since she has a diploma, we have to believe she’s the one who picked it up.  Even though we didn’t get to see her walk up and down the graduation aisle, we’re proud of all Katie has accomplished.  🙂

I Belong to You

I felt a little awkward wearing a bright red t-shirt that day even though everyone else in the family was wearing one.  When we walked up to the front to greet the rest of the family, we sort of made a ruckus.  A lady in a pew behind us reminded us that people were trying to pray.  We simmered down and were good even though we were excited.  We waited for this day for a long time and were happy that it finally arrived.

Towards the end of Mass, the priest approached the front pew where we were sitting and announced to the congregation that someone was celebrating their 100^th birthday.  Grandma stood, turned slightly and waved, as Father introduced her.  Father asked us to sing Happy Birthday.  Grandma smiled, and the rest of us couldn’t help but smile right along with her as we were very proud of her accomplishment.

After Mass was over, we went to the family reunion.  Groups of people trickled in.  Some brought Polish food.  The first presentation was poppy-seed bread.  A cousin made six loaves the day before.  Then the polka kielbasa made an appearance followed by Aunt Mary’s homemade sausage.  I had no idea what the ingredients were, but it tasted fabulous.  The beet and horseradish condiment tasted great with the different sausages.  Then the cabbage rolls were ready to eat!  I got a lot of exercise going back and forth, but it wasn’t enough to keep me from getting full.  As if that wasn’t enough, a caterer set very large rolls, pasta dishes, salad and more desserts on the tables.

As people visited with each other and made a point to see Grandma, I thought about how Grandma had been such a great companion to me and the kids when I was a stay-at-home mom with three small children.  We tried to visit with her at least once a week.  She went to the park with us to help me push the kids in the swings.  Other times we visited the library to get books for the kids and Grandma got some too.  Visiting the mall was fun especially when Grandma announced that the kids could pick out one special toy.  Just as a grandma should, she always made sure that we had cookies or some kind of treat to bring home with us when we parted ways.

The day I married my husband, I was blessed with two Grandmas.  They both treated me like I belonged to them.  That made me happy because I never got to meet my biological Grandmas because they passed away before I was born.  I didn’t know what I was missing until those two wonderful ladies warmly welcomed me into the family.

As the party started to wind down, I sat down next to Grandma.  I like the way she always holds my hand when we first talk to each other.

“Hi, Grandma,” I said.

“Hi Mary Ann.”

“Are you having a good time?” I asked her.

“I’m overwhelmed by all the people.  It’s so nice how they all came to talk to me.  I just wish that my husband could have been here to see everyone.  He would have really liked this.  Sometimes it was a little hard to figure out who belongs to who.”

“Well, I belong to you!” I said.

“That’s right,” she agreed.

A while ago, I asked Grandma what her secret was and how she got to live to be the age she was then.  She said, “Don’t eat the same foods every day.  Be sure to eat something different.”  But I know it’s more than food.  It’s her attitude.  Once she told me, “When I feel down, I ask myself, why?  I don’t have a reason to be.”  Last Christmas, Grandma remembered it was my first Christmas without my Mom, and she said, “I know it’s hard, but you just have to look forward to all the fun things that are coming your way.”

One of my favorite things that Grandma said when someone told her that she spoiled her grandkids was, “If I don’t spoil them, who will?”

If a person can get spoiled by their Grandma’s love, then that makes me rotten!!!