Grand Kids

Tuesday was a trial.
My 2 grand kids fought and argued and cried  all. day. long.
So of course this means Granny fought and argued  all. day. long. too.
(I almost cried at one point but that would have taken too much energy)

They refused to share with each other so every toy choice was a battle.
He wanted to play with his cars but wouldn't let her have any,
which made her cry.
So I give her the large bucket of Legos.
He sidles up to the table and wants the exact Lego piece that she is playing with!
He takes it from her and she cries.
I take it from him and give it back to her and he cries.
I'm not talking sad gentle crying here...I'm talking howling....and screaming with tears.
She wants to watch her favorite cartoon which is Bubble Guppies.
He cries cuz he wants to watch Thomas the Train.
Even though we just finished watching a movie he'd picked which wasn't Thomas the Train.

She wants her socks off!! while the weather feels like -7 with the windchill today.
I wrestle with her to keep them on, she's laughing but I ain't.
He keeps taking his shirt off and I keep telling him to put it back on.

He won't eat. Period. No matter what I offer it is refused.
When he does finally eat at 4:00 (Chocolate Milk and a PB & J)
he wants to eat in front of the TV in the living room.
She refuses to eat unless it is in her booster seat at the kitchen table,
but at least she eats anything!!

We are, all of us, recovering from having colds.
She hates having her nose wiped and cries when I do it (more tears = more snot)
When she hugs me, she rubs her snotty nose on my shoulder...only later do I see the evidence. Ugh
He refuses to blow his nose, preferring instead to sniff all that crap right up into his ears.
My one ear is stuffed full of what feels like cotton wool so I am having trouble hearing-
With the exception of their howling which I can hear with clarity in stereo.

He gets a time out for stealing her dolly and doll bottle...more howling from him from the couch.
She gets put in the playpen for attempting to hit and claw at him for stealing said dolly.
This time the howling is from her with more tears and more snot.

I've got a slight cough and every time I cough, I pee a little so it always feels like I wet myself.
The deafness in my right ear is maddening, so is the piddling in my pants and my infernal runny nose.
It is making me very short tempered and aggravated and they keep fighting and crying!!!

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There is a woman I know who has 2 grown children.
Her son is 42. Her daughter is 38.
Neither one has married and neither one has any desire for children.
And this fact makes her sad.
She wants to dance at their weddings.
She wants to anticipate the arrival of her grandchildren.
She realizes that her children's biological clocks are ticking very loudly now
and that her window of opportunity to ever become a grandma is quickly slamming shut.
The other day she said to me  "I want grandchildren but I guess it's too late now."

On days like the one I described at the very beginning of this post
I would gladly sell her my own grand kids.
Horrible little gutter snipes that they are!!

Then Wednesday comes and they are as good as gold  all. day. long.
They tumble in the front door smiling and loving and happy.
They play nicely with each other and share the toys  all. day. long.
They watch Thomas the Train cartoons and dance to Bubble Guppy songs.
They eat breakfast AND lunch at the kitchen table
And all . day. long. there is no howling, screaming or crying ...not even from Granny ;)

Dear Jesus,
When I pray for peace and quiet, I guess I had better be specific, huh?
I need to remember that there are those who would love to be in my shoes.
Forgive me for my complaining nature.

Thank you Jesus-

For the noise, the snot, the crying, the laughing, the sticky messes, the unconditional love.

For Cartoons, P B & J, chocolate milk, pacifiers, hugs and kisses, pink and blue mittens,

Their tiny beautiful chicklet teeth, Ninja Turtle underwear and the smell of their heads.

For blankies and dollys and trains and Legos and Bubble Guppy dance songs.

Thank you Jesus for blessing me with Grand Kids
Amen