About a week ago, I (gently and lovingly) called my mother a moron. I needn't have bothered, as you'll see in a moment; it just seemed the only proper response to a comment she made.
We were all doing the usual weekend family dinner thing, and shortly before dessert Miri firmly announced she had to go potty and surprised us all by allowing Mommy to take her. (Usually, if I'm around, she insists that it absotively posilutely must be Uncle Brian who takes her to the potty -- that way she can have me tell her the story about when she peed on me in China for the eleventy-seventh time.) While they were out of the room, Mom, Dad and I were talking about how much Miri has grown... which almost inevitably led to some comments about the passing of time, and the (now expected) commentary on how Grandma & Grandpa aren't going to be around forever so I'd better watch my health so I can be there to help AJ with Miri.
What I didn't expect was Mom's comment, "I don't know if she'll remember us, but..."
That's when I (gently and lovingly) called my mother a moron, telling her there was no way the Pipsqueak would not remember her Grandma and Grandpa. Maybe not all the details, maybe not the more informed & balanced memories of an older child, but she'd definitely remember two people who were so important to her.
Luckily, AJ & daughter returned from the successful potty session before Mom could figure out a rebuttal, and the subject was dropped.
As usual, Miri began negotiating for the right to Bounce On Grandma And Grandpa's Bed long before dessert was done. They have a big king-size bed with a gel/foam pad on top -- for someone the size of the Pipsqueak, it provides almost as much bouncy play space as the state of Rhode Island -- and she absolutely loves to bounce & roll around on it. Grandma tends to be a bit nervous during these sessions (she's convinced that any deviation from the absolute center of the mattress will result in her granddaughter crashing headfirst to the floor) so she stands guard on one side... and since none of us think it's a good idea for Dad to have to go up & down the stairs more often than necessary, I'll usually join them and stand guard on the other side of the bed.
This time, the Pipsqueak decided we should all lay down and go to sleep in the bed -- and quite firmly demanded that we play along when Mom & I both demurred, so "going to sleep" it was. Several times, the three of us would lay quietly under the blanket for a few moments ant them Miri would jump up and start yelling, "WAKE UP! WAKE UP!" while laughing at our play-startled expressions.
And then... Well, it seemed like just another iteration of the same game, but we were laying quietly a bit longer this time... and then a bit longer...
...and then Miri rolled over, wrapped her little arms as far around her grandmother as she could, and quietly said, "Grandma, I love you so much!"
We were back to the "wake up!" game a few moments later, but I did manage to sneak in a quiet "told you so!" as the three of us headed back downstairs.
I have since apologized to Mom for calling her a moron... but she's stopped wondering aloud if Miri will remember her Grandma and Grandpa.
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