Being Grannie Annie

Got home last night around midnight. I am exhausted, but wouldn't take a minute or an aching muscle for the experience. Jaycie is such an easygoing little girl. With all the turmoil and stress that goes with moving, she handled herself very well - maybe a little better than her parents, even. There was a bit of time Friday evening when Mommy was panicked that things would never be ready for the moving van by Saturday morning, but all eventually went well.

I've posted a few pics in my Gallery album. Two are Jace - she moves pretty fast, so getting a picture on the iphone wasn't easy. This move thing had her confused, but she was really excited to find her bed had made it to her new bedroom, and had a great time exploring the sun room. The back yard view is what she could see from her perch in the doorway to the kitchen.

The other image is from the inside front cover of the university mag. Dave and "his" supercomputer were the cover story last fall.

It is good to be home. I managed to type a few messages to you guys from my phone's browser, but a couple of them didn't take.

Am still trying to catch up on everything you guys have been saying while I was away.

Ann

Grannies are always busy bees.
I should know because (this is my only claim to fame) I sleep with a Grannie.

Ann,
There's nothing sweeter than to see your grandchild all cuddly and beautiful as it begins to recognise you and it learns to say the first few lines of babble. Of course you are blessed enough to experience this already.

I can honestly say that my mum got an extra lease of life by many years after my daughter was born. Grand children help prolong one's life during your later years-- and I wouldn't let anybody tell me differently...

Good Grannie comments!

I've added a couple of my favorite pictures of Dave to the gallery. Pay attention to the eyes in each. All those eyes tell you who he is.

Ann

Being a grandad is good, too. Lyn's dad is still grieving the loss of her mom, less than two years ago. His health has not been good, but he drove down from Middletown, NY, on Saturday, to help me watch Jaycie while the van was loading and unloading. We had a great time looking after Jace and reminiscing about Bev.

He said something to me that I really cherish, that he and Bev were two working parents looking after an only child, and that while they were both proud of Lyn and in their part of the person she has become, that it was sometimes a rough job, and that they had both talked about the difficulty it had to have been, to be a single working parent looking after three children, and that they felt I had done a very good job.

I don't know about that. It's hard for me to ignore all the screw-ups, but, without taking any credit from them, I must say that they all turned out quite well, and that they are all educators, and very good at doing what they do.

Sometimes we talk about what makes success.

I, personally, am feeling very successful right now.

Ann

Dear Grannie Annie,

Moving is an exhausting business for everyone, especially for little kids and dogs and Grannies. I loved the pictures.

Here is the story of Pogo on moving day.

POGO GETS A MOVE ON
Pogo (Wooffer’s brother) and his whole family were moving … moving to a NEW house in a NEW neighborhood with a new yard. Pogo was not sure he wanted to. He liked his old house and knew where everything was. He liked his old familiar Lizard friends and the old familiar squirrels in the old familiar trees. He knew all the neighbor cats and all the neighbor dogs, if not by sight by the sound of their voices. He had his TERRITORY.
Pogo had a long talk with his dad one night, and his dad told him how the yard was like a big field compared to the yard they had now and that there was a lake and a big forest close by. Pogo was still not sure. He needed to talk to Wooffer! Wooffer would know about big fields and lakes and forests.
Pogo’s mom had been putting everything in boxes for weeks, it seemed to Pogo. He could not find his favorite toy, he could not find his favorite blanket, and finally, he could not find his bed. It was just a blanket on the floor, but he wanted it very much. He wanted to cry. Why did they have to move, anyway?
Finally, the day came to start moving. The family started to arrive.
First came Wooffer and his mom. Of course, Wooffer and Pogo went off by themselves to discuss the move, and the happenings, and who was there, and what was going to happen next, and did anyone know what they were doing, and what a lake and forest was, and many other things that are important to a dog and his friends on moving day.
Everyone had a job to do. Pogo and Wooffer’s job was to make sure that everything was moved to the new house and nothing was left behind.
Pogo and Wooffer took their job very seriously. They followed every box, piece of furniture, rug and candle and watched it being loaded onto the trucks. When the trucks were full and everyone left to take the stuff to the new house, they stayed and guarded the old house. This had been the only “home” that Pogo had ever really known. His friends were here! His territory was here! He just wanted to stay here … home!
They were both lying on the porch just waiting, when a small voice said, “Hey! Pogo! What is going on?” It was Leroy Lizard, one of Pogo’s closest friends, and sitting on the tree nearby was Nudzy Brown, who happened to be Pogo’s favorite squirrel in the world.
Pogo explained that they were moving.
Leroy said, “Oh, No! Things will not be the same without you, Pogo!” Nudzy said that they certainly would not!
Pogo sobbed, “I don’t think things will ever be the same again!” And then he cried as if his heart would break. “OOOHHHH, OOOOHHHHH, OOOOOHHHH.”
Wooffer felt so sorry for Pogo. He knew how he would feel if he were never to see his friends again. He had to do something! But what?
At last, everything inside the house was moved, and Pogo’s dad started to load the plants onto the big truck. They had a jungle of plants of all sizes and kinds. It gave Wooffer a wonderful idea! He must find Leroy at once! Wooffer found him sitting in the Pomegranate tree, and whispered something in his ear.
Leroy sounded the alarm for all the lizards to run home as fast as they could and stay there no matter WHAT.
Such a leaping of lizards has never been seen before, and probably will never be seen again. All of Leroy’s family — children, wives, aunts, uncles, grannies, grampies, cousins and friends — ran home as fast as they could and sat very still.
“It will work! Yes, it will!” said Leroy, leaping for joy.
When all the plants were finally loaded onto the truck, all the LIZARDS were loaded on the truck too because all of them had homes in the plants. Leroy thought that Wooffer was a very smart dog indeed. If it had not been for Wooffer, they would all be looking for a place to call “home” this very minute! Now they could keep their homes and be with Pogo at the same time! Yes, Wooffer was definitely “One of a kind.”
Pogo knew nothing about this, of course, and was still feeling very low. He was saying goodbye to Nudzy and his other squirrel friends, and was about to cry again when Nudzy said, “Don’t worry, old pal, we can always come and see you on the High Way.” (It seems that every squirrel the world over knew about Sir Ryte (Dickey) Doodah’s discovery) This made Pogo feel a little better. But not a LOT better.
Wooffer’s mom came to find Pogo and Wooffer and said, “It is time for the final walk around to make sure we have taken everything. Come on you two beautiful babies!” (She always had nice things to say to them) Well, the three of them, Wooffer, his mom and Pogo, walked all around the yard. The plants were gone, the picnic table was gone, the bird feeder was gone; everything was gone from the yard. Next, they walked all around each room in the house. Every room was empty. They could hear their toenails clacking on the tile and echoing off the walls. Not a thing was left. Pogo thought, “This is not a ‘Home’ now, without anyone and nothing in any room. It is just an empty house.” His home seemed to have disappeared.
Wooffer’s mom knelt down and took Pogo’s face in her warm hands, looked him right in the eyes and said, “Well, Pogo, are you ready to go home now?”
Home … home! … home! The sound of the word sang in his heart! Yes! Yes! Yes! Pogo was ready to go home! Pogo and Wooffer jumped into the truck and they left. Pogo said, “Can’t you go any faster?”
Wooffer’s mom smiled. “It is only a little way, Pogo, we will be there in a few minutes.”
It seemed longer to Pogo, but at last they were at the new house. Pogo leaped out and ran right up to where his dad was unloading the plants. He could not believe his eyes! There was Leroy and every lizard that he ever knew! Oh, happy day! They all started talking at once, telling Pogo of their great ride and how they had just gone home and had gotten moved to where he lived too! What a coincidence! But that was not all. Pogo looked up and there, on the telephone wire, was Nudzy and his whole family, and a few that Pogo had not met, going off toward the forest. Nudzy stopped and yelled down to Pogo, “We came and saw the forest and the lake! We like it better than our old home so we are all moving over here too. We can see you a lot now!”
Pogo stood gazing up at the squirrels as long as he could see them on the wire and then he went into the house. There was his favorite toy, his favorite blanket, his bed, his dish and best of all, there was all his family: Dad, Mom, Jenny and Jessie (his human sisters), his uncles, aunts, grannies and grandpies. There was everything that he remembered from the old house. He was home.

Love,
Betty