The Ashby Journal

On Sunday, after months of planning, worrying and planning Meagan and Mike set sail on a cruise to the Bahamas. It was the first time Ashby's parents had been away together sans wee tot since he arrived nearly four years ago. Each parent had been away on business but the other parent was always on-site. They had not had any daytime babysitters and had adjusted their lives to always have a parent do the dinner, bath and bed routines. Occasionally slipping out for a few hours after he was sound asleep. So leaving him with me for seven days was a BIG deal.

It was with trepidation that I had agreed to spend the week at their house. For those of you who know me well know that while I love my grandchildren in have never been the sleep over Nana. I still work, children live in distant states so unlike some of my friends the grands don't just come over for the weekend.

With all this lead up I feel like a faker to report on the week but in the absence of his blogging Mom I will try to keep the chronicle of his week.

Day One - or rather the afternoon of the first day I woke him from his nap with the news that his FAVORITE Aunt was ready to take him to the neighborhood park. We packed him up with his wagon full of trucks and diggers and walked the two blocks to the park. He promptly unloaded all of the equipment,pushed around some mulch and decided he needed his snack. With his back turned a small posse of toddlers descended on the trucks and shovels like moths to the flame. He watched them indulgently and said it was ok to play with his toys. I think he was slightly amused by one of the little guys who seemed to find sharing unacceptable. With a few minutes he abandoned his treasure trove and lured his Aunt to the other side of the park to drive the Pirate ship and embark on a game of pretend. I stayed and guarded his booty and got the occasional wave. In about a half hour his Uncle Bill came back from the gym and persuaded him to join him in running between the goal posts on the field. A thoroughly tired pre-schooler came back ready to pack up his gear and head home. Mary kept him busy downstairs while I pulled together a dinner Meagan had started before she set sail.

During dinner he asked "where's Mommy". It was a tense second but we asked him where she was and he said she was on the big boat. Asked and answered and we moved on. Next step was bath and bed. Mary and Ashby watched his show while I ran his bath. After managing to splash everyone he was dried, slathered with lotion and ready for his two books,a little snack, teeth brushing and three songs. Mary and I did a duet for the last song after each doing our best for our solo events.

End result. 3pm to 7:15pm. Three adults,one preschooler = successful transition.

But wait there is more. This morning we defrosted some of Mommy's yummy pancakes and moved slowly to time to get dressed. I had some secret aspirations for the day but his Mom had warned me that he really liked to hang out in his pj's and take his time on non-school days. By 8:45 I headed to the shower while he watched a segment of Cars. Quickly bored he came on to watch me put on my face. Somehow we ended up in his Mom's comfy chair in the bedroom with her IPad playing a game, painting pictures. I abandoned thoughts of taking the bus up to buy play bandaids as our outing. Then at 11 he announced it was time to get him dressed and we should go somewhere in my car. I will spare you the details of getting him in his car seat. But thank you Mike for leaving the manual under the seat cover. Off to HT for allergy medicine and a reminder to me that shopping with any child under 20 is an event. Thankfully he was willing to hang on to the end of the cart and wait patiently for his cookie at check out. Then I foolishly headed over for a quick stop at the $1 store for the play bandaids. All of you parents know what comes next. I the aged Nana forgot. What is in the $1 store --- treasures. None of which is suitable for anyone who is not intent on shooting out the eye of their friends and neighbors. I had no idea how many toys had pointy ends and methods of sending them through the air. After many trips back and forth along the aisle with several recommendations that Mommy would not like that toy we settled on a fire truck with multiple small parts easily able to choke a toddler if ingested. Back home, running late we quickly had grilled cheese and fruit and headed up to nap. No tv show because of the time. After spending 20 minutes swinging bunny in ever growing arcs I opens the door and said "if you don't lay down and pull up your covers and go to sleep we can't go to the park this afternoon". Ah the power of his favorite person. He promptly pulled up his covers and went to sleep. I had to wake him at 3:15 so he could go with MJ to the park. This is where I have to confess to this being a boondoggle MJ bundled him out with his T-Ball equipment and stomping rockets to the park while I stayed home and made dinner. Dinner was on time. MJ and I took a few minutes of conversation and the up to start the bedtime routine. This time Ashby snuggled up in MJ's lap to watch his favorite show while I got bath and snacks. MJ did the bath honors and at his request his stories and songs.

Here is my confession. I could never have done this without my sister living in the next block. She does it effortlessly. I am a wreck worrying about schedules and balanced mess. Thank heavens for veggie packs to fill in the nutrition missed. So I guess it does take a village to raise a wee tot.

Tomorrow is our first school day. We have laid out his outfit. The coffee is made.

So Mom and Dad you have done a great job raising a wonderful child. He is willing to go with the program and gives us clear instructions. Now is time for you to renew your energy and know that your wee tot knows down to the end of his tippy toes that he is loved and that you have made good plans for him.