Babies and Laughter: Pretty Good Medicine

When I first arrived in San Jose I asked Grandma what I could do to help and she told me that we were taking the weekend off and she would talk about it on Monday. Therefore, I woke up this morning ready for action. I was given the job of typing up the obituary she had written and sending it off to the newspaper - something I have never done before. I communicated with the obit editor via email a few times before the transaction was final. On a whim I asked how much the total bill would be (figuring it didn't matter that much because it couldn't be more than $20). Boy was I wrong! I was planning on paying for it until I read the email telling me the final charge would be about 30 times what I had estimated! I decided I would do as Grandma told me and put it on her credit card. When I told Chris about that he told me, "when I die make my obituary say: Chris Mickelson: I Died." I shared that with Grandma and she added, "Car for sale." We had a very good chuckle over that and I think the old saying must be true. Laughter is pretty good medicine.

After I finished up that business we took the boys to the park and they had a wonderful time running around in the 55 degree weather. I told Chris that he is going to have to use a lot of his vacation time during the winter because getting outside in January is just so wonderful. I wonder if all these moms that live here have any idea how lucky they are - this climate is amazing.

After dinner (that I prepared - the second time in my entire life that I have made dinner for my Grandma) I sat down on the floor by T with a molasses cookie that Grandma had made just a few hours before. T took one look at that cookie and crawled over to me with an open mouth. He wanted it bad. I tore off a little piece to place in his open mouth, but that wasn't good enough. He grabbed the cookie out of my hand and shoved it in his mouth...and ate the entire thing...and then wanted more. I think he ate three - I guess he likes cookies - just like his mommy.

After eating his fill of cookies, T was tired, so I told Grandma it was time for her therapy. She didn't even have to ask what I meant - she just took T out of my arms and took him into the next room to rock him. I sat in the dining room listening to T "sing" along with Grandma until he just couldn't keep his eyes open any longer. I think I will remember that for the rest of my life. It was a good day.