It was my DIL’s birthday on Saturday, and ‘my son’ was taking his wife out for the seafood that she loves. Because she works most weekends, this time off made it a rare and special treat. It was a treat for me too; Little Flea spent the night with Mémère!
The child was sneezing when she arrived here, then there was congestion, and she slept restlessly for only 4 hours, each of those interrupted every 30 minutes or so by her waking, trying to breathe, poor pet. I didn’t sleep at all, worried that I might not hear her if she needed help or comfort. When she got out of bed around 7:00, I ask her if she was not tired, telling her that I had been awake all night. Her expression contrite, she leaned into me, one tiny hand softly stroking my cheek, and kissed me gently on the nose. An apology like that goes straight to the heart.
Her mom picked her up just before noon, and I suggested to Little Flea that she have a nap before putting on her party dress and coming back later. I followed my own advice and grabbed a short snooze; the family was coming to celebrate and there was food to prepare for a dozen of us. Although Karen had prepped much of it the day before, there was still lots to be done. It has been ages since we’ve been able to get together like this, and I was looking forward to it.
Everyone showed up, the 3 Rugrats included, much to my delight, and it was a terrific evening of hearty appetites, discussion, laughter and teasing, true to form. This time I had wisely put out paper plates, so the cleanup went quickly at the end, with only a small twinge of guilt at my contribution to the overloaded garbage dumps.
Covid has certainly done a number on us for the past two years, but it also makes us realize how precious moments with our loved ones can be. “A privileged blessing,” I told the beasts as we happily relaxed at the end of the day. “Sometimes we need a knock on the noggin to remember what that means.” They wagged their tails and I took that as agreement, and it made me SMILE.
Hope you all had good weekends too, folks. And hope the SMILES sent out to you just make it better!
LUV FROM THE BUSH IN QUEBEC
Tales from the Bush in Quebec 