Still life of my evening, 5/9/09 (happy birthday Courtney and Justin!)
Grace’s sleepover last night was a huge success. So much that as I pulled up to the house this morning at 8:45 to collect her she and Clemmie saw me from across the yard, turned tail, and bolted away from me. She was sad all day long not to be with Clem anymore. She had a great time. But she was, predictably, fried from staying up late and waking up early.
We did manage to write a thank you note to Clemmie:
Grace was super whiny and tearful this afternoon, driving me to the wine at 4:30 (see above). This reminded me, incidentally, of a day in early November 2002. It was in the first couple of weeks of Grace’s life, and Mum stopped by late afternoon one day to say hello. I was sitting in the family room nursing Grace and nursing my own tumbler of wine (red, back then). Mum took one look at me and said: “Driving you to drink, eh?” That’s how I felt today.
But then, with the cat-landing-on-all-fours-after-being-thrown-out-of-window self-preservation instincts I believe all children have, Grace switched on the charm as I was reading to her before bed. She turned to me, eyes all woeful and apologetic.
“Mum,” she said, “Remember how you told me after a sleepover I was going to be really tired?”
“Yes, Gracie, I remember.”
“And how it would be hard to roll with the punches?” (where she got this expression I don’t know but I suspect I must have used it)
“Yes, Grace, hard to roll with the punches.”
“Well, I really have been trying. It’s really hard. But I am trying.”
I fought tears as I listened to her. We then had a long conversation about how rolling with the punches is hard for me too. And indeed, it is.
