Family

Me and Mini-Me

What a wonderful way to begin the day

“Nobody can do for little children what grandparents do. Grandparents sort of sprinkle stardust over the lives of little children.”–Alex Haley

Grandma Duty. It’s a dirty job but someones got to do it

My granddaughter is visiting for a week. We are doing the grandparents babysitting thing with our third and last grandchild. We don’t believe there will be any more. The other two are in college. This one is six years old. As a result, we all call her “The Baby.”

Our home is a classic Boomer layout. The master bedroom is on one side of the house with the master bath. The other three bedrooms and two baths are across the width of the house, with the living and family rooms in the middle. A fantastic layout when you have two active children growing up, a terrible format for one small visiting granddaughter. So, she slept on an air mattress next to our bed, climbing in with us early each morning to snuggle down next to me, where she would go back to sleep.

Her parents have taught her to perform a ritual when she wakes up. First, the toilet, wash her hands and face and brush her teeth before requesting breakfast. Since she sticks to me, I get up when she gets up and perform my morning ritual with her. But besides hand washing, teeth brushing, and face washing, I do many more things. She loves watching me perform my routine in the morning.

Doing Our Faces Together

We look at each other, and both grin, knowing what is coming next. While we are doing our faces, we will plan our day of fun. She will talk most of the time. I will listen while interjecting our plans among her comments.

1. I put drops in my eyes every morning. They have operated on my eyes five times. To see clearly, I had coronal replacement and cataract surgery in both eyes over a three-year time frame. These drops are with me for life. Granddaughter begins her dialogue about whatever passes through her head. I nod and smile. Ask questions. Her talking will be the background music for our session.

2. I spray Flonase up both nostrils. I have the nerve to live in Florida with moderate allergies. Pollen hates me. Yet another lifetime ritual.

3. I put cream around my eyes for dark circles. I gave the baby her own jar of Vaseline to mimic me as I add things to my face. We printed her name on the container. She stands on a small step stool next to me, and we work together. As I put the liquid around my eyes, she does the same with her Vaseline. I mention we are going to go to the pool right after breakfast.

4. Our family is blessed with flawless skin. Our skin literally glows with proper treatment. When I was younger, I took it for granted. Older now, I’m working with what I got. I put on face toner. I pat the toner on my face with my fingers. I pat water on my granddaughter’s face. She loves the feel of my hands patting water on her face. We both laugh a little at this part. After the pool, I say that we will shower, then play a game.

5. Post toner, I add a bit of a lactic acid treatment to my face and neck. The moisture makes my skin feel wonderful. She puts on her Vaseline.

6. Then finally, I add a rosewater moisturizer — more Vaseline.

7. We wipe the Vaseline off her face, leaving a nice sheen. “For breakfast, Grandpa is making your pancakes, I tell her.” Now she is ready to go.

8. Then, for fun, I swipe a bit of mascara across my lashes. No mascara for her. Her lashes are long and beautiful the way the children’s lashes are. I’m thinking of French fries for dinner. The baby enthusiastically agrees; she loves French fries.

9. Using the hairbrush, I brush down my recently cut hair. We add colorful barrettes to her braids. Our day has been loosely planned; we are set.

10. One final swipe with the face spray, and we head out to the living room for our breakfast.

We have often discussed that the granddaughter doesn’t need to do all these things because she is young. She says, “I know, grandma, but I want to be in here with you. When I’m old, I’m going to pat my face as you do; I’m practicing.”

We Are Winners

I smile to myself, remembering the hurry I was in to grow up. I hope granddaughter remembers the fun we had each morning and duplicates it with her grandchildren. My spouse loves when we come into the breakfast area holding hands with shiny faces and friendly attitudes. He gives us both a kiss. I get coffee just the way I like it. The baby receives pancakes with syrup and whipped cream. She loves the syrup and whipped cream as it starts her day off right.

Most of our lives do not comprise small relaxing moments like these. I know this and enjoy it. Being with your granddaughter is a wonderful way to start the day. We sit together, smiling, everyone feeling like a winner.

Toni Crowe retired as the Vice President of Operations to pursue her dream of being a writer. Toni has written six books, two of which won the 2019 Reader’s Choice Gold Awards. Her bestselling business book, “Bullets and Bosses Don’t Have Friends: How Do You Manage A Man Sitting With His Dick in His Hand?” was one winner. Her first book, “Never a $7 Whore” was the other.

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