Just A Quick Shout-Out

Sorry for the silence... been really busy and (just to keep things interesting) really sick. I think AJ gave me whatever cold/virus/yukkiness she was suffering from while the Pipsqueak was taking meds for an ear infection, and one of us passed something on to Mom because she's been pretty sick for over a week. Just to keep things interesting, work has gotten even more insane (Dude, stop telling yourself it can't get worse because every time you do... it does!) so all the grownups are a bit like sleep-deprived zombies.

A couple of bits of cuteness from the Pipsqueak I want to share before diving back into bed... This past weekend, AJ & I went to see "A Christmas Carol" (Sunday matinee) at the dinner theatre we share tickets for, and Miri spent the day with Grandma and Grandpa. (Yes, even though Mom's not healthy.) As soon as we got back to the house, we gathered up the Pipsqueak and headed over to the home of an old friend whose father had died just the other day for a shiva visit. I still remember this friend as one of my "baby" sister's friends when they were back in elementary school (I still remember picking up the whole lot in the family station wagon when school let out on a rainy day shortly after I first got my license) -- and whose daughter had her bat mitzvah earlier this year. (Yikes! Dude, you're old!) Miri put on her usual "I'm shy!" show when we first got there, but soon was happily playing with our friend's daughter. Somewhere along the line, the question of singing and music came up, and all of a sudden we were getting serenaded by my niece -- full-length, on-key renditions of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and "The Hanukkah Song" sung mistake-free with a big smile!  I was amazed, thinking about how just a (very) few months ago I was singing "Twinkle" to her (again and again and again and...) because she liked the song and couldn't sing it herself.

On the way home, we stopped and picked up a couple of pizzas so Mom would have something hot to eat. We spent some time with the folks helping eat the pizzas, watching Miri carefully "read" the label on Grandma's medicine while lecturing her on how she needed to take it regularly for ten days so she could get well, and not to stop taking it before ten days were over... It was soon later than we realized and we were all running on fumes, so Mom threw us out the door. Miri said goodnight to Grandma (with one more admonishment to take her medicine!) and gave Grandpa a big "goodnight, Gampa!" hug before declaring herself "Leader of the Line" and guiding AJ & I out the door. All of a sudden, she stopped short and ran back to the still-open door where our folks were standing and said, "I hope you feel better soon, Grandma!" before marching down the walk to her Mommy's car. Mom asked if one of us had prompted her to say that, but it was pure Pipsqueak caring and nothing either of us had even thought of having her do.

And with that little story, I'm going to try to get back to sleep. (We have another, unrelated, funeral in the morning... Not such a happy holiday season this year... but at least Miri's over her ear infection.)