GRANDMOTHERS VISIT

My mother arrived on the day I was released from bed rest. For the first day and a half I barely saw her, in fact I called Jack at work to tell him I was lonely, because my mother had already disappeared cooking, cleaning and doing laundry. I just wanted her to sit!

It's been great having her visit, and the first thing I asked her to help me do was go down to the baby boutique to look at cribs. Back in March, when it became real I was to finally try to get pregnant, I felt I was qualified to enter a crib store. I fell in love with a red crib there and have been fantasizing about it ever since. My mother went straight for the same crib and fell in love with it too. I didn't have the strength to stand and admire it, so I parked it on an upholstered glider. As a consequence, I've added the glider to my fantasy, too. Maybe we'll get them while she's here. I've already gotten the bedding (see swatch).

Other action items on my agenda this first week off bed rest were making it to Marshalls, T.J. Maxx, the dump, and a plant nursery. I'm still weak as a kitten, so these were rather ambitious goals. I have had to sit down on the floor more than once while "shopping." Very frustrating. I take my mother's arm as we cross the street and I just know people get the wrong impression. Surely they think, "How nice she's helping her grandmother!" when really I'm the one getting the help. My mother is 6 inches shorter than I am, with a tight white perm and her pink scalp showing through. When we were at the dump, sporting our cropped pants and sandals, she was the one hauling most of the junk out of the car. We got some quizzical looks. At the plant nursery, she was the one insisting she lift the plants into the cart and load them into the car. I felt people were giving me dirty looks, and half expected them to whip out their cell phones to call the elder abuse hotline. I am humbled by my mother's physical prowess. Maybe that's why Jack suggested we use her Irish maiden name as Vanessa's middle name.

Yesterday she helped me get the house ready for more visitors. Jack has been doing an exceptional job keeping the place up while working and cooking all the meals. However, the house needed a woman's cleaning touch. As we went room by room, my mother cleaned circles around me. I nearly had a nervous breakdown. Instead of feeling the satisfaction of accomplishment after completing a small task, I found myself feeling each tiny task was woefully futile against the backdrop of what needed to be done. My mother, ever the optimistic helpful one, poo-pooed my inadequacies, paid me lavish compliments for my puny efforts, and got 95% of the work done herself. I turned my back for a minute and she was sweeping the stairs out front, then the driveway, then both front porches. None of these things were on our To-Do list. "I didn't sweep under the car..." was her comment.

Today Granny Ernestine arrives! She is coming with our niece Krista. We are so excited! I'm glad I can get around and we do plan to go out to dinner tonight at Avila Pier. I got my hair cut and put on earrings and mascara for the occasion. Ernie is bringing a photo of herself from boarding school, so we can speculate some more about Vanessa's ultimate looks.

For entertainment, Vanessa kicks my belly so others can feel her. She's thoughtful that way. To get me to belly laugh (Nessa likes that), we play with our fur babies. Milo is in love with Chica and wants to try to lick her to let her know. Chica is in love with the computer keyboard and wants to peck at its little rubber pieces. Alley is in love with Chica's water dish and can think of nothing else when the bird cage is accessible. Max is, well, in love with no one, but he has been sleeping on our bed every night, so maybe he realizes how much we love him.