Thank you, Giant Swole-Up Head of Kirstie Alley, for my new computer est arrivee. I feel like a traitor, because I am typing this on Tyrone, but I fear this is our last rendezvous. Except for the part where I boot all my music that I happen not to have hard copies of onto my new computer, which I have named Hester Prynne. I am keeping good to my promise never to purchase another Dell product after their customer service firewall administered that hot dicking four years ago.
Hester Prynne, meet Tyrone. You have never met before this day, but soon you will be USB frenching.
Or I might blow all this up due to ineptitude, in which case you may never hear from me again. But I can’t let that happen, because I just opened my quick start guide and HOLY SWEET CAT BUTT I can record TV! Now I don’t need to furtively spend late nights surfing the TiVo website one-handed.
So I am happy. It’s got dual-core hoominy-gobs, so now I can play Snood really, really fast!
In Other News
Today I took Franny to see her Nana, who is in an assisted-living community a few blocks from our house. I didn’t realize she was there until this week. She is SeaFed’s grandmother, and I knew her for the duration of our marriage, but never knew if she liked me or not. That’s probably a bad sign, I suppose.
I sent Franny back by herself, and prepared to bust out some Play-Doh for Strudel. A couple of minutes later Franny returned, saying that her Nana had invited me back as well. I hadn’t seen her in four years.
“Well who’s this?” she said, as soon as she saw Strudel. She didn’t seem terrifically interested in me, but I didn’t expect her to. She wasn’t really interested in me when I was married to her grandson, either. I gave her the rundown on Strudel and Franny and her Nana chatted for several minutes. In the way of all young children, Franny explored all of her Nana’s things, including her squishy recliner and knickknacks as if they were set out for the sole purpose of amusing her.
Franny’s Nana was as much herself as always, although she was about fifteen pounds lighter. I had heard that she was having trouble eating for the past few years.
As we left, I asked her if I could bring Franny again and she said sure. I think maybe I will drop her off for short periods of time and take Strudel out into the courtyard or something.
Strudel was popular. The old folks were all queued up for their dinner at four-thirty, and most people were talking to her or waving at her. I heard a gentleman behind me remark to another, “Look at that red hair!” which is also what I hear when I’m in groups of four-year-olds. I turned around and gave him a smile.
I feel like I wussed out a little bit today. Part of me really wanted to thank her. Franny’s Nana was the only person who told me straight out to leave SeaFed. She would see me when Franny was wee and knew he wasn’t working.
“I don’t know why you put up with that,” she would say, when SeaFed’s mother was out of earshot. “This is part of the reason I left his grandfather, you know.”
As we were leaving, she asked me what I was doing and if I was working.
“Nah,” I said. “I’m just writing. I just won a trip. Last summer I won a digital camera with something I wrote.”
“That’s great,” she said. “Glad you’re keeping busy.”
Franny’s bear Poopity dries out after Strudel dropped some logs on him. Sometimes I feel sorry for my big kid. Who craps on someone’s bear?
Super cool SJ. It is good that Frannie is spending time with an elder. I’m sure the experience will serve her well. You get the gold mother star for this one, espeacially since it took some courage.
I must say, at least you went. There are so many that would have just blown it off, so well done that.
But
Who DOESNT poo on someone else’s bear?
Sad panda!
I think it’s awesome that Franny can still have a relationship with her grandma, and good for you for making it work.
BTW, I’ve been meaning to ask: What’s the deal with Strudel’s potty stuff? Are you guys doing elimination communication? I am now utterly sick of diapers and picking other parents’ brains to come up with ideas to end them.
Here’s how it goes: Strudel goes “POO POO!” and yanks off her diaper and runs for the potty. Sometimes she makes it, and sometimes I think she feels like crapping on the floor.
So, would it have been unremarkable had Strudel crapped on her own bear? Also, was the bear previously named Poopity, or is this a post-Strudellog name change? Inquiring minds and all that.
My sister would not be alive today if she had the bad sense to crap on my Snoopy. (Same goes now, but for my beloved bear Theo, who I still sleep with, although I am 31 and married.) Franny is a saint. So is my husband.
I love Hester Prynne! She is one of my favorite characters in my favorite novel.
My cousin pooped in my bath once when we were getting a bath together. A floater.
If she’d pooped on my bear, I think they’d still be looking for the body.