The Dynamic Duo

Hello again! I just had a very nice weekend with my daughter Heather and her boyfriend Heath. They took me out to a place called Wingers, and the waiter was really slow, so he offered free dessert. Yum! From now on, I think I will go light on the entree and just have the asphalt pie! I know, but it really isn’t black concrete; its a lucious confection of oreo crust and minty ice cream with lots of whipped cream. Then we played a few rousing games of Uno Attack. I LOVE games, and anyone who will play them with me. In fact, the next day, they went out and bought me the game for my early birthday present. They also took me out miniature golfing, after which we got a bucket of golf balls, and practiced hitting them into the next county (or at least as far as the blue flag). I was REALLY good! I was hitting the balls WAY out there. I told the kids that I wanted to go golfing, but Heath tells me that real golfing is a lot different. I think you actually have to aim where you want the ball to go, and other silly things like that.

And now, our feature presentation.

When Johnny was about 2 years old, (and Bob and Heather a little older) we took a family vacation to Nevada, California, and Utah. We visited relatives along the way. Johnny had been recently weaned, but still was allowed a water bottle to suck on a couple of times a day. He was out of his routine and wasn’t happy about riding in the car so much. For comfort, and for the sake of the rest of the family’s sanity, he was permitted to suck on his water bottle pretty much whenever he wanted to. It seemed to me, his long suffering mother, that little Johnny did nothing but cry, suck on the accursed water bottle, and wet his diaper. Bob and Heather were enjoying all the new and exciting sights and places, but Johnny was NOT a happy “camper”.
Well, when we got to California, we spent a day at the seashore. The kids had never seen the ocean before; probably a strange thought to people who are used to Japan. Bob and Heather were having a great time; running in the surf, finding sea shells, and even a starfish. I think we saw a jellyfish too, and of course the sand! I was determined that Johnny should experience at least some of the wonder of the ocean, and handed him a particularly captivating seashell. “Look, Johnny. Look at the pretty seashell.” He grasped the shell in his little hand, and I thought I had at last caught his interest. “Oh,” he said wonderingly. “Can my eat it?” When the answer was negative, he flung the shell, away, stuck his lower lip out and pouted.
By the time we got home, I was so sick of that water bottle that I told Johnny that we had left all his water bottles in California and that we couldn’t get them back. It wasn’t until YEARS later that it finally dawned on him that he had had the bottles all the way BACK from California, so…......
But my little prevarication served its purpose, and to this day, Johnny has never again depended upon a water bottle for his comfort and happiness.
So, there you have it. All Johnny. And not ONE embarrassing word about Bob and his 10th birthday party.
Peace.
Ultramom