My folks celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary last Saturday! (High-five Mom and Dad!) We didn't plan a big to-do, because my sister and her family live *outside of the contiguous United States*, and can't make it back until the summer. But my brother planned to fly in just for the weekend, so a few weeks out he suggested I drive over too. I hemmed and hawed, and said I'd check the schedule, and promptly went back to concentrating on whether I could walk and chew gum at the same time. But after several failed attempts (at concentrating), and a text message from my bro the Monday before the anniversary that he was bringing Kobe steaks -then realizing that he might grease his way to the top of the inheritance list with this stunt -I decided on a whim to drive over and join in the sucking-up...I MEAN celebration. I knew I had to give Georgia advance notice, and telling her I would be going on a trip at the last minute would be tricky, so I decided to deliver the news in as light-hearted a manner as possible. As the girls got settled in the car after school that day I said very cheerily, "Oooooo, girls, I've gotten a wild hair!" To which G replied "WHAT?!? YOU GOT A RABBIT?!" I almost couldn't drive us out of the carline I was laughing so hard. Tears actually ran down my face. But to my utter delight, and astonishment, Georgia started laughing too. Puzzled, she said "Whaaaat?!" After wiping the drool from the corner of my mouth, (yes, when I laugh especially hard, I drool), I explained to her that when someone says they've gotten "a wild hair", they mean "a crazy idea". She threw her head back, guffawed, and said "OH! HAHAH! 'Cause a hare is also a rabbit!" A friend of mine pointed out that not many kids her age would even use that term, and some might not know it at all. She thought it very sophisticated of Georgia! The trip was then kid-approved, (Maggie told me I deserved the break because I'd been working so hard!) so I started packing. My brother and I decided that Dad should know I was coming, but it would be fun to surprise Mom!
So I headed to the 'rents house to surprise Mom, but Mom surprised us by developing an intestinal blockage, and requiring emergency surgery Sunday night. I considered "Live Tweeting" the procedure, but I feared once she'd fully shaken off the anesthesia, she might "Live Beat" my ass. My original plan was to come back home Sunday afternoon, but I had decided to stay an extra day, and as it turns out that was a providential decision. I was able to shuttle my brother to the airport, and cruise to the top of the inheritance list, while Dad hurried Mom to the emergency room. Initially my change of plan was not received well by Miss Georgia, but then once she found out her "Mima" had been admitted to the hospital, she suddenly became very understanding. I promised her I would be back in time to do homework Monday night. Um. Dad and I were at the hospital until nearly 2 a.m., ran home to grab a few z's, then headed back with about 3 hours of sleep. I felt like I'd pulled an all-nighter, (but not the studying kind, more like the hanging-out-in-a-loud-smokey-bar-and-drinking-too-much kind) and couldn't imagine getting in the car and driving 6 hours. Besides, Mom gave me those puppy dog eyes and said "Oh, you really shouldn't drive all that way by yourself on such little sleep!" I called the Hubster, we discussed, he said I should definitely stay another day, and we hammered out a strategy for dealing with Georgia's stress over a second unexpected delay. I phoned the school, explained to the secretary what was going on, and that I needed to give my girl a "heads up" about my new plan. She said she would pull G out of class, then call me back. Once I had Georgia on the phone and explained everything, she responded in a calm, measured way, and then said "OK Mom, bye." WOW. That was easy!
Tuesday dawned, and with Mom on the mend, I headed home. I fully expected a tongue lashing from my youngest child once she actually laid eyes on me, but she was all bubbly and giggly and told me she missed me, and was glad I was HOME, and "it is a good thing Mima got to the hospital in time or she could have got a infection!" Whoa. She showed genuine empathy and concern there. Maybe this wasn't just about me being able to make her lunches correctly, unlike her sister or dad! We've had some surprising moments with Georgia lately- good moments, stress-free moments, hopeful-for-her-future moments- and yesterday's homework/Stowell work session still has me shaking my head and grinning. The usual after-school routine is for G to come in the house, unpack all of her homework, lay it out on the counter, then give me a synopsis of what needs to be done. If there is any writing, I might take dictation, and then the gal copies what I've written for her. Or sometimes I can cajole her to attempt to write it herself, but with me spelling each and every word. Not yesterday. She said "I need to write a paragraph about what scares me." I said "Well, what do you think you want to write about? What scares you?" She replied "I am scared when my mom goes away" then she opened her binder, turned to a fresh sheet of paper, and began to write. Sounding out the words on her own. Hearing the sounds. Saying each letter. Writing. On. Her. Own. I sat back like there might be a dozen eggs behind me, and held my breath. She never moaned or whined for me to write it down for her. When homework was done, I told her all I wanted for Stowell work was for her to read from her library book. Her timing and pacing were impeccable. She swept her finger along with her eyes and vice/versa. She deciphered words I didn't think she could. All-in-all it was an afternoon of smooth sailing. Then she woke up with a cold this morning, and has been kinda cranky. So I'm hanging on to the memory of yesterday!
This afternoon G had the news on and was watching the new Pope being presented. I heard her mumble "history in the making" and then....she started clapping wildly. We're not even Catholic. As I headed out to pick up Maggie from school, Georgia turned off the television, got up off the sofa and said "Oh, I need to get homework and Stowell work done." Go figure. And now, as I'm finishing up this blog, G asks me "Hey Mom, wouldn't it be funny if dogs and cats had their own popes?!" Um, sure. Hilarious. History in the making, indeed.
