8 Going on 80
I don't recall exactly why I started, but I've been calling Alexis "Grandma" for a while now.
You guys, the kid is 8 going on 80. No joke.
Never has that been so evident as this past Saturday when Alexis and some of her friends celebrated her birthday with a little sleepover and some swimming at a local hotel. It wasn't her party, per se, as that is coming next weekend, but it was a chance for her to enjoy just a couple of her favoritest people for a night.
She managed that part, by the way. She enjoyed her peoples for sure.
It was everyone else who was a problem.
I happen to know for a fact that the hotel we were at doesn't do birthday parties. I called and asked. And yet, when we walked into the pool area, there were 15 or so little girls who were clearly together for a party.
Whatever.
There were a dozen logistical reasons why whoever decided to hold a party there made a mistake, but they seemed to have a found to make it work for them ... at the expense of everyone else.
So, it wasn't a big pool, and it became even smaller when it became half-filled with the crew that was all together. It became even smaller as they continued to do things that were , well, if *my* kid had been doing many of those things, she would have been in Big Trouble, Mister.
Splashing someone in the face = a bad decision.
Jumping and diving into the shallow end = another bad decision.
Running all around the edge of the pool = a VERY bad decision.
Screaming and saying mean things = still another bad decision.
But, the other girls were doing it. No matter, though, I told our group to hang out in the deep end of the pool and ignore it all. That plot mostly worked, except for the part where Grandma Alexis couldn't stand all the bad decisions floating around. I lost count of how many times she walked up to me to give me grief about how they were making too much noise, carrying on too much, and wouldn't get off her lawn.
"Mom, you picked the wrong hotel. You were supposed to pick one that has an empty pool," she told me.
LET ME GET RIGHT ON THAT, KID.
The best, though, was one of those moments that's pretty much a "you had to be there" moment. (The fact that it won't be as funny in writing totally isn't going to stop me from putting here, though. Some things just need to be remembered.) Alexis came over to me to rat out the other kids for something or other. She did so in her usual grandma tone, a tone which implies that she is much older and much wiser than anyone her own age. As she was carrying on about how irresponsible and annoying something they were doing was, I finally said, "Ok, grandma. I get what you're saying."
She responded in her usual way. "I'm not a grandma," she insisted.
But this time, she did it even as she wrapped a towel around her wet hair just like grandma would.
So.
Grandma status confirmed. For sure.
(Speaking of bad decisions, it turns out that Alexis has been getting around my "no bikinis" rule by wearing tankinis much longer than I would suggest. That right there is a size 4t swimsuit and the stinker has been wearing it at school for swimming class. SHE IS SO BUSTED.)
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Reader Comments (3)
Sabrina is a rule follower (except mine) and gets really uptight when others don't follow the rules.
Alexis' leg has grown a hand :-)
she is the best young gramma! and yaaaaaaaay for towel wrapping. heehee