Monday, November 16, 2020

Slumber Party!


First let me apologize for not answering comments in a timely manner. I have a very strict routine about when I do certain things and answering comments is one of them and some days I just get way behind doing a project or prepping supper or whatever and that's what's been going on here lately. 

It's been the most beautiful day. Laundry on the line under a blue sky and the first part of the day we still had the Weatherfords here because they decided just to stay the night last night. The boys were exhausted, Mama and Daddy were exhausted and martinis were involved. And so we feasted on delicious leftovers and the boys got a bath and used their fingers as toothbrushes and Levon, used to some sort of natural child's toothpaste declared that my toothpaste tasted better than track hoes
"You better get that boy some Colgate," I told Jessie this morning. 

We read books before bed and then August demonstrated how his daddy taught him to do a rain massage which involves many different massaging techniques, on both Bop and Mer and it was the most delightful massage I've ever had. August slept on his fold-out bed beside Boppy's side of our bed and he talked and talked and talked until finally I just said, "Okay. Love you. Night night," and turned out the light and left the room at which point he fell asleep immediately. That child is absolutely full of words and he endlessly describes inventions that he is going to make. They very often feature rockets and cars and things bigger than cars (just a few feet bigger) and chargers and super chargers and, and, and...
I can't even begin to tell you but I will tell you that when he woke up this morning and jumped immediately in the bed with us he was already talking about some other invention. 
Levon slept in the pac'n'play in the room with his parents and I hear that he got up at his usual 5:30 a.m. and his daddy read books to him until August and Boppy and Jessie joined them and by the time I got up, there had been a great deal of snacking and TV watching and I don't even know what all. I told Jessie it reminded me of this wonderful scene from The Big Chill. 


You have to watch it until the very end to hit the joke. God, that was a great movie. 

But I got up to speed pretty quickly and before you know it, pancakes were ready and bacon and eggs and leftover biscuits and beauty berry jam and then Mr. Moon and Vergil continued with their project of getting the clutch on the tractor unstuck, which they did, and the boys got to drive the tractor, sitting on Boppy's lap and all was very well. Jessie did the boys' hair with some gel so that they looked like this.



August had sort of already smashed his down but he's still cool. 

It was quite a busy morning but at one point Jessie was cleaning up the toys in the Glen Den and watching an episode of "The Office" and I joined her and we watched together and both teared up at the end of it. 
"If I broke my ribs again, I'd watch the whole series again," I said.
"You don't have to break your ribs to do that," she said. 
"I sort of do," I said. "Or something. I'd have to break something and I'd rather not do that."

After they left Mr. Moon went to town to go do some car-related business and I stayed here and didn't do much. A little sweeping, unloading the dishwasher, getting in the laundry, weeding the newest rows in the garden. 

The way the weather feels and smells and the way the light slants and shines has been bringing back all sorts of nostalgic emotions. Not exactly memories, but more just the emotions associated with this time of year, most of them good. I'm grateful for that. A sweet, slow ride of feelings. 

I've got gumbo simmering and I'm afraid I've done something wrong. Somehow it tastes a little scorched as if I rushed the roux but I don't feel like I did. The problem is that I have never used just one recipe but have read a bunch of them and used them as a framework and of course every time I make it I go through the same process, meaning I never do it exactly the same. 
Well. It'll be fit to eat. 
Getting chilly. I do believe the duck will be on my side of the bed tonight. I just checked and it's 68 degrees in the house. Good Lord! Feels like an arctic wave to this old southern woman. 

I have to tell you that last night when the kids got here, the boys were drowsy and when Jessie got Levon out of the car I was standing there and she, cradling her baby said, "Look- here's Mermer."
And that boy reached his arms out to me and I took him and he cuddled down onto my old bosom and I felt like I'd been given the sweetest gift in the world. 
And I had. 

Love...Ms. Moon

26 comments:

  1. What a sweet story. Improvising when family decides to spend the night is so much fun! My own grandsons finger-brushed their teeth a couple times at my house. But the feeling of a baby nestling down into MawMaw, and sometimes getting that angelic sigh as they do has got to be the most wonderful soul-deep feeling in the world.

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    1. It is the best feeling, Catrina. To have a baby- any baby- feel safe and secure enough to go easily to another person and snuggle there is just a pure blessing.

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  2. I grated lime peel tonight for supper and I immediately thought of Mexico.

    I'm glad you had a good night. I think our grandson will be a talker too. He's always talking, even though it's not words yet.

    Thanks for the lovely snapshot of a lovely, peaceful day.

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    1. Maggie used to do that- she would talk and talk and talk and TALK in her own language, all of the inflections absolutely perfect. And now, she speaks like a little grown-up lady.
      It was a fine day.

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  3. This is the sweetest post ever. Such a lovely easy family time. That clip from the big chill made me want to watch the movie again. I think I might enjoy it more now than I did when it first came out. The boys with the gelled hair and August in his reflector shades are so cool.

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    1. My friend Sue and I loved that movie so much. She had a huge crush on William Hurt and I loved them all, especially Jeff Goldblume. You should watch it again. You may find things in it that mean a lot more to you now.

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  4. Also, that clothesline is pure poetry.

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    1. Sometimes I think I like to hang the clothes simply because I like the way they look on the line. Domestic prayer flags waving in the breeze.

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  5. My old bosom could use a cuddle from a grandchild right about now. Lovely story!
    I love The Big Chill. We even have it on DVD. A friend from high school absolutely hated it. What is wrong with her?
    Debbie

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    1. Well, each to her own but it's hard for me to understand why someone wouldn't like that movie. There was a lot of preciousness in it.

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  6. How great that the kids got to stay over with you. I'm glad your family is able to spend more time in closer contact these days.

    I love "The Big Chill"!

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    1. Me too, on both statements, Steve! And it's always a treat to hang out with Vergil. He is so easy to get along with. I have felt comfortable with him from the get-go.

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  8. Mr Moon was engaging in "car-related business". Does that mean he was hot wiring a car before selling it on to dodgy guys on the other side of the railroad track? I guess he doesn't tell you everything.

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    1. I'm pretty sure that was not the kind of car-related business he was doing. He was helping a customer with a transaction for a car. He'd sold her one about six years ago and she is passing that one on to her granddaughter and buying herself a newer one. All quite above board.

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  9. are those all your dish towels hanging on the line? and that picture of August is so funny, at a funny angle that make his forehead look giant and a narrow pointy chin like the images of aliens from outer space. sounds like a lovely day. I know what you mean about the perfect day and emotional memories, just feeling good.

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    1. No. Mostly there you are seeing placemats and cloth napkins. You know I have that love of thrift shopped cloth napkins. I am going crazy right now thinking of all the people who have cleaned out their houses during the pandemic and donated their beautiful unused napkins to be sold to people like me.

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  10. Sounds like a fun, family time. Grandkids are terrific for sure.

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    1. They are an unexpected wonder and bonus. Or at least that's how I've felt about grandchildren.

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  11. Ha ha, toothpaste better than a track hoe! That's a real gem!

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  12. Wow. 68 is the number I keep on the thermostat for heat, and I still wear two layers of tees and a hoodie.

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