Tuesday, September 14, 2021

Time Humbles and Tumbles Us With Its Mysterious Passing


And this is what the hurricane lily looked like this morning. They are rather magical plants, I think. Their lives are ridiculously short. One day you'll see the stalk sprouting up, the next day a bud forms, and then it opens to bask in sunlight and glory for a few more days, at most. The rest of the year they are the earth's little secret, hidden entirely from view, gathering up the energy required for such a fleeting, flaming and delicate existence. 
How I love them! 

I should probably just end this here as the rest of the day was not much. I mailed a package, I did some laundry, I swept some floors, I went to Publix. And that was NOT much of a pleasure today, I have to admit. I kept seeing people that I did not want to talk to and I suppose they had no desire to talk to me either as we pretended we did not know each other although of course fate did throw us into the same aisle over and over again. I bought way more stuff than I needed for no reason except that some things were BOGO that we do use and as my mother always said, "They'll keep just as good on my shelf as theirs." Or something to that effect. And I also couldn't remember if I had enough of certain things and so I just bought more. Flour, for instance. I had meant to check the flour supply before I left but did not. So now I have plenty of flour. 

Owen is coming to spend the night tomorrow as they are off of school on Thursday and Friday. I'm excited about that. I've asked him about three times what he'd like to eat, via text, and his answers have been slow in coming and fairly incomplete. I finally asked him if he'd like homemade pizza and did get a definitive answer on that. 
"omg. Yes."
So then I proceeded to ask him what his favorite toppings were and whether he likes thin crust or thick. He answered, "Chicken."
Okay. We'll go from there. 

When I was in the store I started thinking about how Owen used to stand on the kitchen step-stool and help me make pizza by smushing the dough with his little fingers and carefully placing the toppings on the pie. He was barely older than a baby and it seems so impossible to me that that happened so very long ago and that now he's almost as tall as I am and could probably make his own pizza if he wanted to. As I said in a comment the other day, people always tell parents how fast the years fly by, how quickly their babies grow up but no one seems to warn the grandparents. I guess it's assumed that grandparents by very definition know how fast children can grow as we are the parents of their parents but there's also the crazy way that times goes faster and faster every year as each year becomes a smaller and smaller percentage of our lives which means that they grow up even faster and that's just hard. 
I look back at pictures of all the children when they were babies, toddlers, and my heart just yearns to be able to hug them and hold them the way I did then when they were so small. 


Do you remember Owen when he was this little guy? 

Ever since Owen was a baby, when he'd leave my house with his mama or daddy, I would always whisper to him, "You're my little prince," when I kissed him goodbye. 
I still do. Don't tell him I told you that. 
And I just told Lily on the phone that I sort of feel like royalty is coming to visit when Owen's planning a sleepover here. He IS my little prince although he's not little anymore. But he was my first grandchild. He gave me my grandmother name which is the perfect grandmother name for me.

It's only supposed to get up to eighty-one degrees tomorrow. I can barely believe that. I guess the hurricane lilies know what they're talking about as they always come up when summer and fall are at their cusp. 



Another season is about to be done and another one is about to start. 
Again. 

Love...Ms. Moon
 




22 comments:

  1. Those flowers are lovely. Abd yes, thinking back about those babies. My arms still clearly remember the feel of my son as a baby, and he's in his midfifties.

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  2. I am acutely aware of passage of time, though I don't have children....but I see through the maturing of my friends children (plus the signals from my own body) that time does indeed pass in the blink of our eyes. Speaking of eyes, you must not have seen Brenda with the mermaid eyeshadow at Publix, or your *visit* might have been a brighter one! Glad your prince will have a sleepover...... chicken with pesto pizza is one of my favorites (just sayin) LOL. And on yesterdays note.....I realized after research...that your confederate rose is not actually a rose, but in the hibiscus family. Learn something new every day!
    Susan M

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    1. Brenda works at Costco! And yes indeed. She makes all of my visits there better just by being there.
      I'm very much looking forward to Owen being here which will be very soon.
      And you're right about the confederate rose. They are in the hibiscus family, as is okra. It's a big family!

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  3. yep, when they get taller than you are, that's just not right. now my grandson is poised to be a father. the baby shower is Saturday and it's possible the baby will be here a week after that.

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    1. That is so crazy, Ellen! Now you will not only be a great grandmother but also a greatgrandmother. Oh my. I wonder if I'll live long enough to achieve that. And if I haven't already said it- congratulations!

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  4. That flower is beautiful and that photo of Owen is so cute. I hope you have a great time.

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  5. those flowers are really impressive , fire works in the garden. Baby Owen such a little guy- what an adorable person and now he is all handsome and everything. WOW, the time is a trickster. Have a lovely time with the lad, pretty sure I needn't have said that.

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    1. Hurricane lilies are exactly like fire works in the garden! Owen was such an adorable little guy. It's so odd how I could not really figure out who he looked like and now he is the absolute mini-me of his mama.

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  6. I've always said that our grandchildren grow up twice as fast as our children and it is so true! Enjoy your time with Owen!

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  7. The hurricane lilies are so beautiful. I wonder if they'd grow here? I'd love to have some. I'll have to do some research!

    That picture of Owen is adorable. It IS amazing how quickly kids grow. I am continually amazed at school by the kids who are now seniors in high school -- and I remember them as fifth graders!

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    1. That's an interesting question, Steve. I have no ideas if hurricane lilies would live in England. I do love them and I know you would too.
      When you met Owen the first time he was still a little guy. I'll never forget that and I doubt he will either.

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  8. You and Owen can make pizza together if he wants! I love the photo of him as a little man - so cute! Still is!

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    1. I am definitely going to give him that option!

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  9. Everyone says you enjoy your grandchildren so much because you've (usually) got time to enjoy them and be 100% available to them and so far I'm finding that's true. I remember so clearly when my boys were little (up to about age 5) but then it just flew by with the rush, rush, rush of life, such as it was at the time!

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    1. It is true. I was reading one book after another to Levon today and I thought about that- how I never got the time to really just read forever to my own children. It is a precious gift.

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  10. Finally got round to reading some blogs and leaving the occasional comment. It's been a whirlwind few weeks here following loss of Jane's mum, and still a funeral to navigate next week - I might get back to blogging after that, but for now, just reading if not writing. Take care.

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    1. We will be glad to read your posts again. I am so sorry to hear about your wife's mother. I hope that your wife is handling things okay. This has to be such a hard time for her and for all of your family.

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  11. I didn't start here before Owen. So happy to see him as a baby. He seems not to have changed much. Easy going. Perhaps a sibling peace maker.

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  12. Ahhh, that picture of Owen looking at Boppy has so much the same feeling as the picture in your next post of Levon looking at his grandfather. Oh my heart. I started reading here when Owen looked like that, and so I feel as if he is all our little prince, as we've watched him grow into this wonderful big brother and big cousin, a boy steeped in love.

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Tell me, sweeties. Tell me what you think.