I'm going to take a cue (is that a phrase? I think it is?) from Cathy Zielske and do a bit of journaling on my blog. Later I'm going to make a page or two about it.
Yesterday, Allison and I went to her favorite park and there was a field of clover. It reminded me of when I was little and I used to try to find four leaf clovers and make daisy chains with clovers and play "Momma had a baby and her head popped off" with the clovers and I even named my cat Clover because I loved those flowers so much. So instead of going to the playground part of the park, we sat down in the field and I made Allison a clover crown and necklace. She was enchanted. We looked for four leaf clovers and she announced "They are all three leafed clovers here Mommy; the four leafed clovers must be on vacation." Then she gets the idea to lay down in the clovers Alice in Wonderland style (remember the opening scene of the Disney movie?).
And we have the most wonderful time ever. Allison even insists that we drive back to the house so we can put on the matching flower dresses that I sewed for her and I. Our house isn't that far away, and she's being so cute, that I can't say no - we drive home to get the matching flower dresses, put them on and go back to the park for more frolicking in the flowers.
So tonight, after work, we decide to have another little girl's date - first to the health food store for salads and Kombucha juice for me. Allison makes a carrot and cheese salad at the salad bar - she's got the whole routine down pat. So when we get to the check out (this time it wasn't our usual young man cashier who Mac now growls at because he thinks there's a big chance this guy wants to marry me because we had a discusssion about organic farming that Mac thought was much too flirtatious for his taste). Back to the story, I had Allison put her salad in a soup cup instead of the big salad container because she doesn't eat a lot and it just seemed to make sense. So when it was our turn, I asked the cashier to weigh all three salads together. The cashier said how we didn't have to weigh soup and I replied that it wasn't soup, it was Allison's carrot and cheese salad. The girl said "oh that sounds yummy." Then Allison tells her "Yes, I really enjoyed it in my first life." "Your first life?" "Yes. My first life." The health food store is kind of like a town square and it is not unusual to overhear conversations about all sorts of things from organic farming to reincarnation to the latest cleansing fast methods. But I'm not sure where Ally got the first life thing - though, I always have thought, since the first moment I looked into her eyes that she was an old soul. Perhaps she really is - one that liked a little carrot & cheese salad back in the day.
Allison loves to take a bath in the jacuzzi tub with me. Its a whole big ritual we've got - a girl thing. We have special bubble baths and soaps and bath toys and of course my plastic granddaughter, Bubble Bath Baby, always joins us in the tub. Allison is Bubble Bath Baby's Mommy and she usually has a dialogue going with the wee little babe. Tonight, as she was washing BBB's hair - or we should say bald plastic head - she said in BBB's baby voice "Momma - why do you have to wash my hair?" Allison answered sweetly "Because you get that skunk smell if we don't." This struck me as hilariously funny and I just couldn't stop laughing. Allison does not enjoy my laughing at something she did not intend to be funny and she quickly admonished me to stop laughing immeidately - just like my Grandma Grace used to when I was little. Allison Grace has the same sense of humor as her namesake - she is funny without trying to be. I can remember so many times at my Grandma's house - Grandma would say something like "Those hippies across the street sure do have a lot of loud parties - and if I were younger I'm sure they would be a lot of fun - but now that I'm old it just seems like a lot of noise." She and Allison both have this timing thing - that neither of them were/are aware that they have, but they are both completely funny in the same way.
(here's a page I made about Grandma Grace who was not only funny - she was thrifty)
Minutes later, as I'm trying to compose myself so I can stop laughing, I tell Allison "Daddy is going to sell the fish tanks." She gets her sad face, lower lip all pouted out and head down. Then, an idea!, she pops her head up with a big smile and an index finger in the air and announces "Just wait till morning and he'll forget!" "He'll forget? I don't think so honey" I reply. And then matter of factly she states "Yes, he will. Just try it. You forget things all the time. You just wake up and forget it all." {pause} "Well, Mom, you do." More laughing from me and telling me to stop from her. And me wishing that I had a notepad in the tub to write all this stuff down.
I know there was one more story but I'm forgetting it - next time I'll bring a little notepad with me to the park & to the tub. This was fun and I'm going to copy & paste this onto a future scrapbooking page. Cool beans. Thanks CZ for the whole blogging / story telling / scrapbooking connection.
Ok I just remembered - tonight - (I got off subject on that first paragraph) - tonight we went to the park again & Allison was so excited to see her field of clover again that she went skipping into the field with a huge smile on her face. But stopped abruptly and did "the look" - head down, arms folded, bottom lip out. "What is it Lu Lu?" I ask. She doesn't answer but the first look quickly turns into the "eyebrow look" which means mean eyebrows, lips puckered, and arms straight down with tight little fists.
Still no answer. Then I look around and see that there are no clovers - it is clear that the parks department of the City of St. Pete Beach has come to mow the lawn since our last visit. Allison is none too pleased. We stay at the park for a little while but she never quite gets over the lack of clovers. On the way home, we stopped at an empty lot down the street to pick some wild flowers that are growing where our neighbor's home used to be (a few years ago an investor bought it and demolished the house - which Allison watched from her stroller as we were on a walk that day - she hated that whole plowing the house down - and it was the whole house - they didn't even bother to remove the major appliances or cabinets or anything - it was the whole house.) I mention that a house used to be in the lot where we are picking flowers - and I know she said something funny but I can't remember - maybe I'll remember in the morning - or, ok actually, according to Allison most likely I'm going to forget. Just another reason to write stuff down.
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