It's the Little Things

Give me a "C" Bean, Bean.


See, you can hold it way back here and it can't hurt you Miss Bugg.


I didn't have any big plans for the Fourth last evening. With exception to firecrackers whizzing all around the neighborhood, I thought Handy Man and I would have a quiet evening at home.



To say my Friday was not the best would be an understatement, though I did enjoy a nice visit with Rae and Michael. I didn't feel much up to going anywhere.



Anyway, rain caused Ceece and 1st Lt.'s plans to fall through, so they came out with Bean and Bugg. Ceece brought some delicious stuffed mushrooms and a big diet Coke from McDonald's. I had been to Sam's earlier and bought the most delicious cherries, so we threw in some more stuff and had a scrumptious supper.



After dinner, Miss Bugg picked up a book I'd purchased from my favorite book catalog, Chinaberry, called I Kissed the Baby by Mary Murphy. I actually bought the book with Buttercup in mind, but anyway, it's a little board book about a new baby in the barnyard and each animal in turns says something like, "I saw the baby? Did you see the baby?" So, as I read, I made up a different voice for each animal. In the end, it's the mother duck who's speaking, er quacking, and I remembered that I used to be able to carry on quite a quacky conversation, so I gave it my quackiest best and it cracked Bean and Bugg up to point we were all laughing off our little tail feathers. I had to read the book over five times, until I'd quacked till I was hoarse and said, "No more." Such a little thing, such wonderful laughter, such a sweet treat.



When Bean was new and started that deep belly laughing, I remember his daddy saying, "That is the best sound in the world." If it's my big kids, or my little gramerlings, it's still the best sound in the world to me. Those precious minutes of a good book and laughter make me remember why I love grand parenting so much.



Later, we used up some of the remaining sparklers from Rae's wedding. At first, Miss Bugg was very uneasy. I remembered Bean feeling that same sparkler anxiety, so I tried the same remedy for her as I had for him. I got a long stick and taped the sparkler to it, so she could enjoy it, without getting too close. By evening's end, she was just holding the sparkler with no stick. Bean and Mommy enjoyed making letters, while Dad shot off bottle rockets and Arwen ran away as fast as she could go. Handy Man Pappy built a teeny tiny fire for s'mores.



In lighting a sparkler, I burned my hand and put an ice cube on it. Miss Bugg said, " Did you get a boo, boo? Do we need to go to the dentist?"



Today, I went back to visit Kaye. Her pain and irritation was from an over done dialysis. The rest of the weekend was much better. She slept well and is eating a little more and talking a lot, like last weekend. Pete is going to talk to them tomorrow about doing something to not cause her such agony post-dialysis.

I am so very sad to report that not every one's celebration turned out like mine. My good friend Jeanne hosts the Fourth at her house each year and her brother Mark provides a dazzling display of fireworks for family and friends. In the process of preparing for the show, he had a heart attack and they were not able to resuscitate him. Please keep this family in your prayers. He was only 41 years old.