Sorry to have been away for so long--but I had an exciting reason--my MOM came for a visit to Maison Cou Rouge.
Those of you lucky enough to have your children's grandparents around constantly might not be able to appreciate how lucky you are. One thing I regret about the swell place we live is that my children do not know what it is like to have one's grandparents nearby.
So Gran came for a visit, to see Boy play football, to see Girl run cross country, and generally hang out with us for a few days. She brought gorgeous cool weather with her from Louisiana (not exactly a state known for it's chilly temps, but much appreciated nevertheless).
So on Thursday morn, Grumpy Guy and I drove up to Atlanta to meet her flight. We left early to check out the Atlanta IKEA, bought totally unneeded but absolutely necessary stuff, and checked on the status of Boy's out-of-stock futon armchairs. I absolutely LOVE IKEA, a romance that blossomed when we lived in Germany. I could spend DAYS in that place, and was happy to have exited the building with a credit card slip under $100, boxes of gingersnaps, some new cotton napkins (at $0.50 each...who needs paper), some picture frames, leather magazine boxes for the piles of magazines by GG's side of the bed, and all sorts of ideas for Girl's soon-to-be redone bedroom.
Gran's flight was almost on time- a miracle in Atlanta. She didn't have any baggage checked-everything for five days' travel in her rolling carry-on bag.
Those who know my mom just read that last sentence in slackjawed stunned silence. Gran, five days' clothing, one bag? One bag for her SHOES, maybe, but for EVERYTHING??
My mom is always impeccably dressed, coiffed, and manicured. (Did I mention that she's still a size 8, walks at least 3 miles a day, eats right, etc. I sometimes wonder if I was switched at birth, until I look at Girl, and realized the elegance gene just skipped a generation).
But she was her fashionably turned out self, even in that one bag. She charmed the masses of Middle-Of-Nowhere, GA. She laughed with our friends and neighbors at the local restaurant on Thursday, hollered just as loud as I did at Friday's homecoming game, and cheered on unknown runners at Saturday's meet. She met the kid's friends, didn't raise an eyebrow at the late night electric guitar jam session, cooked and cleaned up, and brought her towels down to the laundry on Monday morning.
She was a trooper. She is fabulous. No, she can not be cloned. Don't even ask.
Gran and my friend LeeLee at the Tailgate Supper before footballThere is, and always will be, only one Gran.
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