Re: Friday evening. The four of us get to the local park around 6:30, and the band is playing 80’s oldies (specifically, Chicago’s “Saturday in the park”). It’s cloudy out, not too hot. We set up our chairs more toward the water gizmo area, than our usual area near the music/stage. GranMaRose gets out the blanket and lays it out on the grass. The little girl is anxious to play in the water gizmo area, but still has her regular clothes on. GMR takes Lailah and baby Ruby to the restroom so that Lailah can change into her swimsuit. I hang out “guarding” the blanket and chairs, and miscellaneous other park related stuff. Rose leaves her phone behind since Lailah’s dad is supposed to call. Of course, it rings while they are away, but I don’t have the passcode. I use my phone to text him that his mom is busy with Lailah but will ring him back in a few mins. By this time, they are back, and I tell GMR that her son called. She’s dials him, and he tells her a huge storm is brewing and (lots of embellishment follows), Lassie is whining and barking, and we need to get to high ground since Lassie barks out that there’s going to be a flash flood, and the town of Beautiful Downtown Apple Valley is going to be under twenty feet of water in ten minutes. It’s decided that GMR will go get the car from where we parked it, while I take care of the kids, one of whom has already ran over to the water gizmos and jungle gym, and is having a fun time, while the other is hanging out with me, in my arms, looking at me like kids do when they are only eight months old, showing off their beautiful blue eyes, not saying a word to me. I’m holding her in one arm, while trying to carry a folding chair or two to the curb where we’re supposed to meet GMR once she gets there. I carry Ruby back up the hill, to pick up the diaper bag, the snack bag, and whatever else I needed to retrieve, when a six year old boy runs past me, running right toward the diaper bag, AND right before he picks it up, I start yelling “hey!”, “HEY!”, and the boy turns around and looks at me, I yell (I’m yelling since there are dozens of kids yelling and screaming around us), “That’s MY BAG!”, and he starts walking toward me, dragging the bag with him. I finally turn back toward the curb, and see a dad loading his car up, and it becomes apparent that the gentleman noticed me lugging the two chairs with this beautiful baby in my arms, and he’d asked his son to go help me!! I apologize to the boy, and thanked him for helping out. The dad grins at me. I tell him he’s got a great son, and thanked him as well.
In the meantime, Rose drives up, and we start loading the car with our junk, and, of course, the little girl is nowhere to be found in the sea of children in the water gizmo area. I wander up the hill with Ruby tightly held against my chest, and search out Lailah – she’s in the jungle gym area, and has found a neighborhood kid she’s playing with. I tell her we’ve got to go, but she wants to play some more and she wants her friend to meet me and Ruby. I say hello, and then reiterate that we have to go, etc. The three of us turn around, and we wave to GranMa by the car to let her know I’ve found the little girl, and we’re on our way, moseying down the hill toward her, Lailah holding my hand, and Ruby, still in my arms, wondering what exactly is going on – “we just got here” she whispers in my ear. No, I made that part up – she’s still not talking to me these days, even though she’s eight months old. By this time, GMRs got the wagon train loaded up, the horses untied, and we put Ruby into her baby cradle car seat type thing, and we buckle Lailah into her booster seat, and off we go, back to Mom and Dad’s house, without encountering one drop of rain during all of this, as well as none during the car ride back. We spend a half hour catching up with him, outside, standing in the driveway, and, still, no “huge” storm. No flash flood. And, Lassie isn’t around either, for some reason. But, if you have a six year old, and an eight month old baby you’re looking after, its best to be safe than sorry, since, you know, rain has been known to melt people (e.g., witches – but not little children!).
Oh, forgot to mention, before any of this stuff occurred, GMR had picked these two girls up, and had driven over to my place to pick me up, I’d just gotten home, and was getting my shorts, and hat, and other stuff, when I’m almost ready, and not realizing they’d arrived, I look out my front door, and guess who is walking up to my front door, but the little girl. I see her, and she sees me, and I stand there looking out the screen door, and she’s looking at me, looking in, and I say, well, are you coming in or not?? She squeals, and lets out a huge “GranPa!”, as I open the door for her, as she jumps up into my arms. I tell her I still need to get my foldup chair, and she’s not letting go, and wants me to carry her, and I walk through the kitchen toward the garage, and I ask her “do you know where we’re going?”. She looks at me and says: “The Dungeon?” Yep, we have to go into the dungeon to get my chair, don’t be scared! We get my chair, and she realizes something is amiss with the dungeon. Where’s your JetSki, GranPa, she asks. I told her I had to move it to storage for awhile (long story, but it involves getting a new garage door). She tells me, “I like riding on it” (she’s only been on it in the garage, not on the water). We get my foldup chair, and go back into the house, get my hat, locked the front door, and found GMR and Ruby waiting patiently for Lailah and her dopey GranPa to get into the car so all of us could go to Music in the Park together.
Whew. That was my Friday evening!
[I still have to write about spending all of Saturday afternoon with Lailah and GMR. We all had a ton of fun together, but, we’ll save that for another day.]
