After our whirlwind of travel the last couple of weeks, this week has been a welcome respite from packing, unpacking and printing boarding passes. My friend Stacy's daughter Casey who is friends with both of my children is in the hospital...this time for surgery that is going to end the suffering she has experienced having ulcerative colitis and being unresponsive to medication.
I try to be somewhat useful and since I couldn't actually DO the surgery myself or have it done to me so she wouldn't have to go through it, I settled for driving carpool from day camp for Casey's twin 8-year old brother and sister. Now this is something that either REALLY was helpful to the family or something that answered the question, "What can we have her do that will make her feel needed and that she can't F*** up too bad?"
The twins and I have spent a lot of time together over the past several months, and to me it's a treat...taking me back to the days before my children had perfected the eyeroll, when they could show delight at something as simple as making a cake and when their big innocent eyes could melt my heart (they still can, but it's more rare...as they approach adolescence, their eyes become a bit more guarded with little roman shades covering those windows to their souls.) It's almost a peek into one's future as a grandparent...not having to do the daily grind of getting them to clean their rooms, brush their teeth, etc. but getting these amazing hugs. And when they are feeling particularly manipulative...like when I take them to do something their Mom wouldn't (like painting pottery) and there's a chance that there's ice cream in their futures...they look up at me with those big eyes and say, "Can we call you Mom? You are like our second mother!"
Well, actually I'm like the second mother who is actually trying to be more like their first mother who is a much more nurturing soul than I. So, we learn from each other. But tell me, if this little Lindsay in Wonderland asked you for another piece of cak
e, wouldn't you find it just a little hard to say no?
And as for the Zach in the Hat, I'd probably let him keep the fish and the bowl and go play with the kids and Things 1 and 2 while I cleaned up the mess...because look at that punim (how was that Stacy? good use of Yiddish?)
Several months back I read and reviewed a book called I Hate Other People's Kids. And I came to the conclusion that yes, I do hate other people's kids. But now I have been exposed as the sham I am (as opposed to Sam I Am if we are carrying on the Dr. Seuss reference). I am, in fact, a sucker for other people's kids...especially these two who have been tough little troupers despite the upheaval in their family due to their sister's illness. They've gone with the flow. They've rolled with the changes. They've cried for missing their Mommy ALMOST as much as she has cried for missing them. As they grow up, they will be stronger for having experienced Casey's illness and there will be lots of great karma waiting for them around every turn.
They are the unsung heroes...and I just wanted to sing about them for a minute. I love you Lindsay & Zach!
Temp-Mom Di
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