“Wear ‘em and tear ‘em and buy some more…”
My grandmother would sing this diddy whenever I got new shoes but my mom didn’t want me to run outside in them.
Has anyone noticed how mothers mellow when they become grandmothers?
It seems this more laid-back approach recycles in our family once grandkids are born. When my daughter was little, my mother enjoyed taking her for weekends. Inevitably she would call me a couple hours before I was supposed to pick up Marissa. Take her to the doctor, she’d say. I don’t know what’s wrong with her. She has a stomach ache. Of course, there was nothing wrong with Marissa. Her stomach ache was the result of happy meals, candy and four trips to the ice cream shop.
Recently I was sifting through storage boxes. While opening one labeled, ‘dolls’, I stumbled across “Baby June”. Immediately, I felt a flashback from 1989. Marissa was four; she had pink sponge curlers dangling from her hair. I was frying bacon when her cute little voice peeped, “Mommmmy! Where’s Baby June?”
Baby June was Marissa’s brand new Cabbage Patch doll. Back in the 1980’s these yarn-topped playthings were like gold. Mothers went elbow to elbow to snatch them off shelves. I grabbed a yellow curly haired one. Naturally, I wanted to keep this trophy safe. So I told Marissa not to take Baby June outside. “Something might happen to her.”
Marissa skipped off in a jiffy. Seconds later Baby June was perched over her shoulder. She patted my hip. “What if that something is fun mommy? Then can I take her outside?”
Hmmmm… The magic of boxes being opened. You can see what is inside and how it all got there. No wonder young children love being with grandparents so much. This tender pair have the inside scoop on the power of fun.
I so remember the ‘rush’ to get the Cabbage Patch dolls. Except that we were pretty fortunate. My uncle worked in a JCPenney store that stocked toys in those days, and got us in on family night where we were able to select ours in advance. We got the pick of the crop, as it were.
Kids are so funny, aren’t they? You have to hand it to her…she wanted her ‘baby’ to have fun, lol.
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