It's very odd to get up and not run out to check on the fate of animals living in the wild! Instead, I rely on Ed updates and as always, there is a mix of good and troubling, but I am determined not to let this topic rule my waking hours in March and so I take it in and put it aside.
It's not hard to move on to another preoccupation when you're in a different place and with another grandgirl -- one who is growing by leaps and bounds!
Primrose is moving around upright (I guess "walking" is a good word for it!) She does well if she can grab something, or if you walk along with her and hold her hand. If I think I'm going to have any sit down time today, I am so very mistaken.
Parents are off to work (one last hug!)...
And I'm off to play.
(Yes, there is a breakfast stuck in there while Primrose is napping.)
I see this little one often enough, but still, I always need at least an hour to feel her pulse again -- kids change that fast at her age!
She is way past the "hold me!" age, at the same time, she needs someone by her side. If you are out of her field of vision, she drops everything and concentrates on making sure that you haven't fallen off the face of the planet.
Too, she uses every opportunity to pull herself up and get going. This is tricky stuff: she can't tell what will topple and what will hold steady. That's grandma's job.
("Grandma, I'm wearing new shoes!")
We explore her basket of toys. (These rings spin their way down! Sort of amazing.)
But honestly, Primrose rarely sits still for long. At this moment, it's all about locomotion. She is a child on the go!
A happy girl, she takes great pleasure in small things and is not easily upset. One fall has her scurry into my arms for comfort, but otherwise, she is all curious gazes and has quite the range of vocalizations and utterances. She can be serious and soulful, but in that belly there sure is a fistful of laughter! (She thinks being spun around in her push wagon is very funny.)
(Quiet time before the afternoon nap...)
(Yes, there'll always be a pseudo-selfie on a time release!)
I do miss my outside time with her. Looking out, it seems not warm, but not cold either. Right around freezing. That seems okay for a walk with a girl who has Wisconsin blood in her! We head out.
The goal is to time our outing with the return of her mom. Intercepting her as she gets off the commuter train has always been a lovely ritual. But of course, it had been a summer ritual. If her mom missed one train or stayed a bit later and caught another, Primrose and I would wait it out in the park.
Today, after a few blocks, I realize that a long walk is not the best idea. It's maybe a degree below freezing, but toward dusk and with a Chicago breeze, this can feel pretty cold. At the park, I do let her have a minute in the swing, which she loves ("way up high in the sky..."), but very quickly, I call it quits. It just feels too nippy out there.
Just as I am snapping her back in the stroller, I get a text that mom will be arriving within twenty minutes. That's too long to wait outside. Is there any commercial venue that could house us for a quarter of an hour? I peek into a bar. No... Too many steps to climb with a stroller. There's just one more place -- oh, what do you know! It's a dog boarding/grooming/supplies shop! Maybe they have cat food...
Hi, can I buy a can of your best kitten food? You see, I live on this farm, except we aren't farmers, but there are these kittens...
Primrose listens, clearly puzzled by this whole adventure.
The shop is closing up soon, but the sweet owner/groomer/dog caregiver lets us stay as he tidies up. Besides, Ziggy, the barking spaniel still needs to be picked up by the owner.
How many dogs do you have here for the day?
Today we had seven. There was a lot of dog energy! But, they all know each other, so it was fine. Here, your little one needs a tissue.
I dab on Primrose's nose then look for a garbage bin.
I'll take it. No, no problem. I pick up dog poop all day long, I can certainly handle a used tissue.
We chat some, about dogs, owners, about feral cats of course. And then the twenty minutes are up. I thank him, Primrose waves goodbye to loud Ziggy and we go out again to great, beloved mom.
In the evening, after Primrose is back in her crib, protesting only slightly the end of a day of play, I toss a supper together for myself and push the young couple out the door. What good is a grandma's visit if the kids can't take a pause from their routines! Me, I pour a glass of wine, pile up a stack of ginger snaps and retreat to the new mystery novel that I started on the bus ride here and expect to finish on the bus ride back tomorrow.
It's not hard to move on to another preoccupation when you're in a different place and with another grandgirl -- one who is growing by leaps and bounds!
Primrose is moving around upright (I guess "walking" is a good word for it!) She does well if she can grab something, or if you walk along with her and hold her hand. If I think I'm going to have any sit down time today, I am so very mistaken.
Parents are off to work (one last hug!)...
And I'm off to play.
(Yes, there is a breakfast stuck in there while Primrose is napping.)
I see this little one often enough, but still, I always need at least an hour to feel her pulse again -- kids change that fast at her age!
She is way past the "hold me!" age, at the same time, she needs someone by her side. If you are out of her field of vision, she drops everything and concentrates on making sure that you haven't fallen off the face of the planet.
Too, she uses every opportunity to pull herself up and get going. This is tricky stuff: she can't tell what will topple and what will hold steady. That's grandma's job.
("Grandma, I'm wearing new shoes!")
We explore her basket of toys. (These rings spin their way down! Sort of amazing.)
But honestly, Primrose rarely sits still for long. At this moment, it's all about locomotion. She is a child on the go!
A happy girl, she takes great pleasure in small things and is not easily upset. One fall has her scurry into my arms for comfort, but otherwise, she is all curious gazes and has quite the range of vocalizations and utterances. She can be serious and soulful, but in that belly there sure is a fistful of laughter! (She thinks being spun around in her push wagon is very funny.)
(Quiet time before the afternoon nap...)
(Yes, there'll always be a pseudo-selfie on a time release!)
I do miss my outside time with her. Looking out, it seems not warm, but not cold either. Right around freezing. That seems okay for a walk with a girl who has Wisconsin blood in her! We head out.
The goal is to time our outing with the return of her mom. Intercepting her as she gets off the commuter train has always been a lovely ritual. But of course, it had been a summer ritual. If her mom missed one train or stayed a bit later and caught another, Primrose and I would wait it out in the park.
Today, after a few blocks, I realize that a long walk is not the best idea. It's maybe a degree below freezing, but toward dusk and with a Chicago breeze, this can feel pretty cold. At the park, I do let her have a minute in the swing, which she loves ("way up high in the sky..."), but very quickly, I call it quits. It just feels too nippy out there.
Just as I am snapping her back in the stroller, I get a text that mom will be arriving within twenty minutes. That's too long to wait outside. Is there any commercial venue that could house us for a quarter of an hour? I peek into a bar. No... Too many steps to climb with a stroller. There's just one more place -- oh, what do you know! It's a dog boarding/grooming/supplies shop! Maybe they have cat food...
Hi, can I buy a can of your best kitten food? You see, I live on this farm, except we aren't farmers, but there are these kittens...
Primrose listens, clearly puzzled by this whole adventure.
The shop is closing up soon, but the sweet owner/groomer/dog caregiver lets us stay as he tidies up. Besides, Ziggy, the barking spaniel still needs to be picked up by the owner.
How many dogs do you have here for the day?
Today we had seven. There was a lot of dog energy! But, they all know each other, so it was fine. Here, your little one needs a tissue.
I dab on Primrose's nose then look for a garbage bin.
I'll take it. No, no problem. I pick up dog poop all day long, I can certainly handle a used tissue.
We chat some, about dogs, owners, about feral cats of course. And then the twenty minutes are up. I thank him, Primrose waves goodbye to loud Ziggy and we go out again to great, beloved mom.
In the evening, after Primrose is back in her crib, protesting only slightly the end of a day of play, I toss a supper together for myself and push the young couple out the door. What good is a grandma's visit if the kids can't take a pause from their routines! Me, I pour a glass of wine, pile up a stack of ginger snaps and retreat to the new mystery novel that I started on the bus ride here and expect to finish on the bus ride back tomorrow.
What a perfect day!
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