Victoria Advocate, A Different Perspective, November 5th
Recently, I went to New Braunfels to visit my daughter and brought Ellie, our youngest granddaughter, back with me. She was happy to visit Mamaw and Papa by herself. The only time she fussed was when I stopped in a long drive through line for coffee on the way back. But after a late night, I needed the coffee.
When we arrived home, my son came and brought her two boy cousins. Happy times. Eleven-year-old David was friendly, but he couldn’t quite lower himself to play with her. Eight-year-old Emmit was thrilled. They played and created a sneaky mess in the grandkid closet. At first, it was sweet and funny, the two of them holed up in a small closet. Emmitt doodling on one side and Ellie rearranging toys on the other side. They made a table of sorts between them and stuffed pillows and blankets around, making it real cozy.
Ellie loves the dollhouse I inherited—because I had the room—and played with the little Calico critters and the dollhouse furniture a lot. Only someone left a critter on the carpet. When we found it again, our dog Lacey had chewed off an arm and part of the rabbit’s torso.
Then I discovered what they’d really done in the closet. They dumped several gallon baggies with game pieces into different hidey holes amid the pillows and blankets. Of course, the mess trailed out of the closet, where Lacey once again made off with the tiny pieces. It felt like we spent the entire evening pulling things out of her mouth.
The next morning, we visited her great-grandmother’s. Ellie loved the box of toys that Gigi has saved and added to. Probably her favorite was the stick-on jewelry. She wanted to take the whole box home, but we opted for the rest of the face jewels and a cat bag.
When we drove past the clubhouse at Morada East, she pointed to it, saying, “There’s the party house.” Then I remembered she’d been there for a patriotic celebration in July, and yes, there had been a big party. Funny how a four-year-old remembers more than I do these days.
The time to go home arrived much too quickly. Gigi had given her a single breath mint wrapped in plastic. It had been in her purse at one point, but I also saw it in other places. So when it came time to leave and she couldn’t find it, in order to stave off a meltdown, I offered her a chocolate kiss. Well, that worked. Then she needed a few more for her cousins since they were going to ride with her in the car to Gonzales. Then she needed some for her sisters. She dug through the closet mess until she found her shoes and water bottle, then packed her bag. Finally, when she’d stuffed the little black purse to overflowing, she left with Papa, her uncle, and her cousins.
They had a great time at a local park. Our daughter had joined them with her other two girls, and the cousins had a wonderful time running around and climbing trees. It wasn’t until the next morning when they were getting ready for church that Ellie couldn’t find her black purse. Papa checked the backseat of our car and found it buried under an afghan.
Her mom said Ellie had several meltdowns that morning, mostly about the purse, but also because her visit to see Papa and Mamaw wasn’t long enough.
Be it ever so humble, there’s no place like Mamaw’s.
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