Abby, Currin and I were playing with Abby’s elephant game this morning when suddenly Abby jumped up and ran out of the room. She came back in with two matching reindeer dogs – one hers, one Currin’s. “We need to play with our dogs now Nana” Abby said and sat down with Currin. Not wanting to feel out of the loop I said “what’s your dog’s name Abby?” “Sister” she replied. “What’s Currin’s dog’s name?” “Currin Ladd” she said. “Hmmmm, but why not brother Abby?” She gave me THAT look, rolled her eyes and replied “it is brother, Nana. Brother Currin Ladd. You don’t know everything do you Nana?” Well!!!!! Apparently not 🙂

After snack Abby went and got a book and said “Currin wants you to read this to him”. We all three snuggled in the chair under a blanket and I read to them. My favorite time of the day by the way. I was trying to read without my glasses because I was just too cozy to get up to get them. Thankfully the print was fairly large so I could read it, but by the time I finished, my eyes were burning. I closed them for a moment, and rubbed them when Abby said “if reading makes you sleepy Nana, maybe you need a nap”.

Currin ate about 30 minutes before Abby so while I was fixing her lunch, I handed him my cell phone to keep him entertained. I saw Currin point at Abby and say “A Ba”, and then he nodded his head yes, pointed at me and said “Nana”. The next thing I knew Abby was bringing me the phone and saying “say hello Nana”. Thinking we were playing another game I said ” Heellllllooooo! Imagine my surprise when a voice on the other end said “Hellllllooooo! What took you so long”? I replied, “what took me so long for what? I didn’t even hear the phone ring. “It didn’t” my cousin Greta said. “Currin called me.” Turns out after listening to him babble for several minutes she asked him if Abby was there, to which he had pointed at Abby and said “A Ba”. Then she said “is your Nana there” to which he nodded yes and pointed to me. We both got a good laugh out of his first phone call. Just glad it wasn’t to China.

Sometimes I wonder if I have enough structure for the kids in our day. I try to mix different things but have never gotten organized enough to do the same thing, at the same time each day. Today Abby made me realize we have just enough structure. She came to me and said “Mommy has a lot of work to do at work today so she has to work a long time. But it’s okay Nana, there’s lots we can do”. “Really Abby” I asked. “What can we do”? And here is Abby’s version of our days: First we wake up and have breakfast and watch Dora or Diego. Then we build a fort. Then we read a story. And then we learn our letters and colors. Then we paint or color. Sometimes we make things but sometimes I make them because it’s too hard for you. Then we play chase or hide and seek and then we have a snack. Then we can go to your house, Nana. Then we watch Mickey Mouse and then it’s lunch time. Then you say “I love you Abby” and I say “I love you too Nana”. Then we take a nap and when we wake up it is 5 minutes till mommy comes home.

She went on to tell me when it gets warm again we can go to McDonald’s, Chuck E Cheese, Nana’s park and the zoo. While this is not necessarily the order of our day, the point is she recognizes we do things together and that Nana loves them. And that’s more important than anything.

But in Abby’s world maybe there’s more structure than I see. After lunch today she went and got two blankets and two pillows – “one for you and Baby Currin and one for Abby”. We get to watch one movie” and then it’s time to rest.” As it turned out, we didn’t need two pillows and two blankets. The three of us fit just fine in daddy’s chair. “I love you Abby and Currin” “We love you too Nana”.