House Guest.....

We had an end of the summer sleepover tonight....guest of honor...Brooklynn Mae.  She is by far my favorite houseguest!  She is three years old going on sixteen and I never know what kind of energy she is bringing with her when she comes.

Before spending some serious Gramma-Brooklynn time, I GENEROUSLY let her go out and hang with Gramps while he worked to keep my wilting plants alive.  She is the consummate helper.  No task too difficult for this active three year old.  

 A little play time and then time to get ready for bed.  While the bath was filling B decided to perch on the back of my tub.  A likely place to sit, of course!  Well, what to do while the water ran...discuss the day and anything else that a three year old might have on her mind.  The first thing on the agenda, her new classroom and starting another year of pre-school next week. Brooklynn is clear on the fact that she will no doubt like going to gymnastics much better than going to school because there just aren't enough toys in her classroom.  I get that!  

After covering a wide variety of subject matter, we were on to some of the new jokes she had learned lately....

"What do you call a bear with no teeth?.....A gummy bear!"

(insert hysterical laughter!)

"What game do cows play at a party?....Moosical chairs!"

(insert more laughter!)

"Why do cows have bells?...Their horns don't work!"

(laugh some more....okay, the water is cold now!!!)

So I wonder what kind of memories will stay with this vivacious child.  I have so many things that take me back to the time I spent with my grandparents. 

My grandpa loved hard raspberry candy with soft centers and the jar was always full. 

 I loved watching my grandma stand on her footstool and hang wash on the line.

I looked forward to the days Ray came down the brick road in his bread truck.  I always got to pick out a treat.

I loved my grandparents big front porch and the steps...sitting out there was one of my favorite things.

  I remember the door key hanging on a nail on the back porch in full view of everyone and wondering why they locked the door.

  My very favorite memory was sitting at the kitchen table and having an ice cream soda while my grandpa rolled his own cigarettes.  

I loved my grandmothers house.  It was two stories and a basement.  It had four bedrooms and one bathroom and when everyone gathered for holidays that became a problem!  So the resolution...a Folger's coffee can upstairs in between the two bedrooms.  I am not sure how they decided who had the job of emptying that in the morning!

So what will Brooklynn remember?  Will her favorite spot to have those important conversations be on her perch on the back of the bathtub?  Will it be banana nut muffins and pancakes in the morning?  I just hope that whatever it is that holds a place in her memory it is happy times...because those are the kind of memories I have.