The big squeeze-o-rama

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We’ve always been a family of 5 in this house. 2 parents and 3 sons. Then the sons started to leave home in their 20’s and when we had only 1 of them left at home, my in-laws moved in so we could help take care of my mother-in-love who had Alzheimers. That lasted nearly 4 years, just the 5 of us. Parents, parents and one son.
Then the parents’ parents left us – Dad first with a stroke, and Mom to a nursing home when her Alz got worse and worse.
The youngest son married 6 years ago and we’ve settled into all that goes with ‘Empty Nesters’. We develop habits and rituals that go with our work schedules – he does this and she does that, you know . . . patterns emerge and work out so well that we don’t have to even say much out loud. We talk in looks and raised eyebrows and expressions – a language that only people who have been married 41 years can understand. And we laugh a lot. Most everything is anticipated with a joyful smile. In short – we have reached the stage where whatever comes out of his mouth is gonna’ make me laugh. Life is good!
Enter the need for middle son, wife, and grandkids to move in while waiting for their new house rental to be available come mid-August. Yes, life is still good – didn’t I say grandchildren were involved?? I mean, there’s nothing like having a little brown eyed blonde 2 year old single step down the stairs in the morning, hair askew and sleep in her eyes asking, “Where’s Mama?” (Mama’s in the basement, but I see no need to tell her that without extracting payment in the form of a snuggle!)
Today, Svea rode on the lawn mower with me while I finished the mowing. I took her, Bjorn and Derek up in the woods in the Mule and rode the trail several times.
I give them ice cream . . .
We are making memories. I told Dane I want them to say, “Remember how much fun we had when we lived with grandma & grandpa that summer?
But adding 6 more people to the settled patterns has been an adventure, and this house is going to feel huge when August comes around!
I had to get rid of furniture, (still need to get rid of furniture, actually). You can’t move without stepping on a Transformer or a crayon, or kicking a balloon. The TV is lit up with big-eyed cartoon characters who have magic wands and little voices. And the internet is always buzzing with activity. All the toys that were in the basement have migrated up here and you can’t reach for the remote without having to move a machine gun or a naked Barbie doll.
I never thought I was very neat, but I am re-evaluating that . . . I believe there is hope for me. There will be a new, organized me come mid-August. Yes, today holds promise – and it cuddles like a brown eyed blonde with rosy cheeks.