Monday, August 24, 2015

We Are Stardust, We Are Golden. And Then We Clean Up Dead Animals Because Some Of Us Think We Got To Get Ourselves Back To The Garden


That's me after today's make-over.
It's been some day.
What occurs to me is that my ability to make-believe (act) has stood me well over my years of child-rearing and child-tending. Give me a role and I'll play it. I surely did enjoy my years of using this skill onstage but now I have slipped back into using it entirely with children. And as with the onstage thing, make-up is often involved.

My boys are very much into role-playing and imagination. Gibson creates little scenarios with anything and everything. He plays all of the roles, using whatever is at hand to stand in as actors. Owen's imagination touches everything he does, at least with me.
He is going through a thing where he does not like to be alone in a room in my house. "The monsters follow me around," he says. This is not worrisome to me. It is amazing. He assigns me my parts in his narrative many times a day.
When I was being made-over, I was the Queen of Harvard (!?)  and that somehow involved pyramids, as well as the tried and true role of being a woman who was going to go to a party.
"You will be the most golden woman at the party!" he proclaimed.
He was right. If I were going to a party, I most certainly would be. The theme from "Goldfinger" is looping my brain as we speak.

We also walked down to Papa Jay's for a lollipop and a drink, only to find that it was closed. This does not bode well but I'm not certain that Papa Jay is making his rent which is sad as hell but there you go.
Lloyd.
Anyway, on the way home, Owen decided that when we got back we would play restaurant.
Fine.
And so we did.
I was the server/owner of the restaurant.
He and Gibson sat up at the kitchen island and I gave them menus, which were books.
"May I take your drink order?" I asked.
"We'll have two waters," Owen said.
Their entire order looked like this.


Of course I had to write it down! That's his signature at the bottom where he signed for the check. 
As the dining experience continued and they ate their meal, it was discovered that I was his grandmother and that he and his brother's parents had been killed and how fortunate was it that they had stumbled, entirely by chance, into their grandmother's restaurant! I offered them to live with me now and they accepted. I showed them their room and they were happy with it. 
It was just joyous! And I had to promise to take in their fish and two cats as well. 
No problem.

And there's this:


Elephant ear salads. 
Don't they look delicious? 
They were gathered here:


Oh well. They're about to die back anyway. They'll be back next spring. 
Elephant ears are slightly toxic and I made Owen wash his hands well after his adventures in jungle cuisine. I think he'll live. I asked Gibson if he had touched them and he assured me that he had not. You know what? I took him at his word. 

All of this and so much more occurred in the space of three hours. 
Three hours. 

One more thing- when we were in the bathroom while I was getting my make-over, Owen said something about, "That looks like blood!" and I ignored him, thinking that yet again, his imagination was cooking up something good and gory. 
Then I actually looked at the place he was talking about. 
Oh. Sweet baby Jesus. No. 
I have no idea what happened there but my best guess is that Maurice slew a giant rat. There WAS blood, and organs and teeth. And...undefinable gore. 
And it had been there for awhile.
I thought of Lis using that bathroom. I freaked. I texted her to ask if she had noticed a murder massacre scene. She texted me back just now saying, "Um...No. What bloody massacre scene was that?"
I'm glad she didn't have to see it but I know if she had, she would not have freaked out. She, too, lives in the country. These things happen. 

And frankly, if that, uh, creature, was in my house, I'm mighty grateful to Maurice for slaying it. 
My sweet little kitty. Whom I love to sleep with, who calms and comforts me as I fall asleep, petting her soft, clean, warm fur. 

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!

Time to go put the chickens up. 

Love...Ms. Moon

Sweet Santa Joni Mitchell:


13 comments:

  1. Oh, how glorious when children play/pretend real life things. My daughter used to spend half a day making up tests and then lining all the stuffed animals up against her closet door and then pretend to walk up and down rows of students giving tests. Unforgettable!

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  2. Your gilding has me speechless. I... seriously. Incredible. You truly are the most golden Grandmere.

    I love Owen's games. I bought C a friendly monster to scare other monsters away when she was going through the monster-fear stage. She called him Murphy Anew, and we told stories about him taking her flying at night.

    May the rest of your week be entirely gore free.

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  3. What a wonderful day you had with the boys! Even though you don't really know me, I feel as if I know all of you because of reading your blog, so when I was in Publix today and recognized Lilie I said hello to her. I told her I read her mother's blog and how much I like it. It was like running into a famous person, and she is just as pretty as your pictures depict if not even prettier. Hope it's all right that I was so bold! Even though I don't comment often or even very much, your observations and words are very important to me!

    Georgie J. from Monticello

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  4. This is the best. I'm listening to it after holding my crying teenager in my arms whose heart is broken. I wish he were still a little boy.

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  5. Well, we always knew you were golden. Now we have proof!

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  6. Oh, Elizabeth. So sad. It's just part of the process, though, isn't it? We've all been there - he's so lucky he has a mum to hold him through it still. It was easier when you could just use breastmilk magic to make it all go away, though, I know!

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  7. Goldfinger was what came to my mind, too, when I saw that picture! As I recall, in the movie, the Bond Girl who was painted gold died from her paint job. I'm glad yours didn't go THAT way!

    Too bad about Papa Jay. Maybe he's just on vacation.

    All that imagination swirling around in your house! I remember being a little kid and trying to pick a yellowed elephant ear leaf, and the juice BURNED my fingers. I don't know why, because it's never happened again, but I've always remembered that any time I interact with an elephant ear.

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  8. I thought for a moment that you had actually gone to a counter at a make up place and had that done. Or maybe gone to a tanning salon or something like that. Glad that it was done by your boys. And the salad does look good. Summer is almost gone. Kinda sad for that here.

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  9. Ms. Peace Thyme- I love that story! I remember pretend playing as a child. It was just so infinitely satisfying and fun.

    Jo- I thank you for that wish! It's a good one! Yep. And Owen applied all of that gold with one eye-shadow brush.

    Georgie- Oh! Thank you! And Lily was so happy to meet you! She texted me about it. She said you were sweet. I'm so glad you're here!

    Elizabeth- There is nothing as heartbreaking as a big boy (or man) crying. I am so glad he can come to you to be held, to be comforted.

    liv- Until I washed it off!

    Jo- Exactly.

    Steve Reed- I remembered that Bond Girl fact as well! Yep. Glad I didn't die. And that is weird about the elephant ear. Huh. I wonder why THAT one was so toxic?
    Papa Jays is back open today.

    Syd- Nope. Golding done by Mr. Owen and Mr. Gibson, world-reknown make-up artists. There is a bittersweetness happening this time of year, isn't there?

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  10. after finding the same dead desiccated lizard body at the back door three days in a row, I finally threw it in the trash. and then there was the squashed toad. and the unidentifiable things that the puppy finds and chews on.

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  11. Oh my gosh, I love this post so much. I love the make believe, it's so fascinating and creative. I love how they play out so many things we still haunt us as adults. And how you help them process it. And just the fun of it all, the signing of the check, and I would def order up one of those beautiful toxic salads. I could listen to Owen and Gibson stories all day. You are the best grandmother. And writer, and observer.
    Also, it's not freezing at work, so reading you at work will just have to be included in my job description.

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  12. Oh I loved the most golden woman at the party, line!

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  13. Ellen Abbott- Oh, how our animals love us, bringing us these fine gifts!

    Bethany- Haha! Well, tell them it's LITERATURE and thus, RESEARCH!
    My boys would adore you.

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