A Good Day for Abs

It was just Abs and me Saturday night. We went to church Sunday morning and had a very nice day.....mostly.
Abs' behavior was a little contumacious in the morning, but she had calmed considerably before we arrived at church. I always put her hair in hot-rollers because she wants curls "like mommy." There is no way, short of a perm, that she can ever have curls like her mom's, but having some bouncy ones when she looks in the mirror seems to make a little difference in her outlook for the day. The weight of her hair and the humidity of our weather ensures a short half-life.

The curls were particularly short-lived Sunday because Abs got mad. I cannot even recall the reason right now. She stamped her feet,"growled" (because she was too mad to even think of words), and began pulling the hot-rollers out. I tried to reason with her as rollers flew around the room, but Abs would have none of it. So I waited until the rollers were all out and her temper was spent. Then I explained she had pulled so hard that the curls were not as tight and she would lose some of her free time because she would have to pick up all the rollers and transport them back to their case.
"That's not hard," she murmured and proceeded to put the clips on the rollers and gather them up.
There was an extra clip. One roller was missing.
I expected rebellion, but Abs gamely sought the missing roller. Under the sofa we found "Fisher Price little people", a comic book, play dishes from being served restaurant style meals we had to order (interminably), an action figure, and a lost Christmas ball, but no roller. We spent precious time searching for the missing roller until I gave up and let her continue alone. As I walked back to the kitchen, I saw the lost roller in another area.
"So sad we will be late," I pointed out.
It was not a worry for Abs. She was back on a roll.

Since Abs' mom was sick, I kept Abs for the afternoon and made chicken soup for her mom. Abs played contentedly and listened to some old 45's I have. I banned the L-P of "SwissFamily Robinson" after the 2nd time through and we moved on to an American Heritage series L-P that covered the war with Britain in 1814. That one was also banned after the 2nd time. She memorizes these things and we hear them repeated for days. She should be in good shape by the time she gets to a school history class and can already recite all the lessons. Right now she is learning the Gettysburg address because she read it from a decorative tin I had sitting out.

I took Abs home in the late afternoon. I gave her a big hug and told her I had really enjoyed the day and really enjoyed having her with me. She hugged me and said "I really enjoyed spending the day with you, too, Grandma!"
Yes, Abs has some really good days, enough to keep us going.
Hot rollers - $$; lunch at Steak 'n Shake - $10.00, time with Abs - priceless.

What Are Little Girls Made Of?

I had the pleasure of having Abs and Em staying with me last night. Em is getting to be such a teenager in spite of the fact that time is still 2 years away.
Abs was, as always, Abs. She couldn't go to sleep, kept coming in for a drink of water, another book, to tell me "something," and with a dozen other excuses. I finally got wise and shut her door so there was no light in the room. I don't know whether she just got tired about 10 PM or went to sleep to dream of new ways to turn the world upside down.
Abs was awake about 6:30 this morning, just after I had thought I would sneak out for some quiet time at the computer. She came padding softly in and requested her "caffeine." We had decided she might function better today after a cup of coffee since caffeine is supposed to have a paradoxical effect on some behaviors. I fixed two cups - both with milk and sugar and added hot chocolate mix to her cup since she thought it was too bitter. I made pancakes while we shared our morning coffee - mine to energize me, hers to calm her down - A grandma and an 7 year old having a morning cuppa'. Mine worked better than hers and I was able to keep up with her, more or less, when we went to church.

Her mom hadn't checked Abs' overnight bag so I had to veto the pink, frothy flower girl dress that Abs had stuffed into her small backpack. She planned to top it off with worn tennis shoes that she can't keep tied, so she stuffs the laces in at the sides.
"I don't have any other shoes that match each other," she told me.
"I am sure your Mom doesn't buy them that way," I replied. "Maybe it is because you have no light bulbs in your room so you just can't see your shoes," I told her.
I checked my closets for "clothestofitAbs." The size 14 dress was too large, so we settled on a large size 7. Being small for her age and not too fashion conscious sometimes works in our favor.

I stuck close to Abs at church, reminding her of the "rules" we had agreed on and knowing she was way too flighty today to remember anything so mundane. We have a fellowship time between Sunday School and Church Service. The Girl Scouts who use our facilities had kindly provided us with mounds of delicious GS cookies. Abs got to them before I got to her, adding sugary energy ...and it was only 10:30 AM.

Fortunately, one of our most experienced and loving teachers was in charge of the Children's Moment. Although Abs had plenty to say, this teacher kindly handed her a paper to read, "but not out loud," and managed to get through the lesson before Abs finished the paper. I picked Abs up after Children's Church and had a report from another teacher.
"She was really bouncing off the walls today," this very kind, calm teacher reported.
"I tried to warn everyone ahead of time," I replied.
"Well, she had some more cookies," the teacher said. "I tried to get to her before she ate them, but she managed to eat some anyway." (I heard Teacher's daughter explaining to someone earlier that she could not afford to eat any more cookies or she would be too hyper. She is 11. Maybe there is hope for Abs?)
"Trust me, I know how fast she can be," I replied.
"She had a whole stack of cookies." Teacher indicated the size of the stack by holding her hands about 6 inches apart. "I told her to put them back, but she told me she had licked them. I threw them out." Teacher smiled, "She is obviously not an only child."

Oh, Abs, I really do love you!

Read the rest of the story here.