Grandchildren Spending The Night

Okay, so it isn't them now in the photo above. However, it wasn't that long ago - maybe almost a year or even two years ago at Halloween. Yesterday was dress like a boy (Adam Sandler) day. Paxton wasn't going for it. He wore a Vikings Jersey with a Hoodie and sweatpants. I guess that is a boy's look.

Brynn wore shorts and a t-shirt with a hoodie. Both were in tennis shoes, and Brynn had Grandpa's Yamaha hat on. Grandpa offered a hat with Bald is Beautiful to Paxton, but he refused, saying, "I will get teased." They are in a new school this year, which has pre-school through the twelfth grade.

I picked them up from home on Monday night, and they wanted supper when we got here. John was eating late as he had a tooth pulled on Monday - Split pea soup, which the kids wanted no part of, and an ice cream malt, which they did want one also.

Paxton was crabby as he said he didn't eat much yesterday. He knocked the school food offerings. He said a friend gave him one of his sandwiches at lunchtime. He ate half a pizza and a breakfast bowl out of the freezer for dinner, while Brynn ate the other half along with her malt.

It was last-minute, or I would have fixed a better dinner. They were happy eating what they did. Then it was a shower for Brynn and getting to bed. I threw a load of clothes in the wash when we got home, and they were ready to go in the morning. One hoodie was washed for today from that load.

Paxton showered, so all of their clothes were put in the washing machine as I would see their mother later that night. After dropping the kids at school, fifteen minutes early, I called their mother to check in.

I told her we got there early. I let her know I don't miss getting kids off to school. I said, I remember the three of them being good at getting off to school on their own. She said, "Yes, I suppose you don't remember the rough times!"

Now, I remember my Grandpa saying, "My kids weren't as bad as Ione's kids". I must have gotten the selective memory from my Grandpa.

Everything went as planned, except my daughter didn't get home early enough to meet up, so we decided to meet today instead. I took their clean clothes, toiletries, and pills to their house and then took the kids to school when they were ready.

In case you are wondering, no, this isn't a regular thing. My daughter took a co-worker who is being treated for cancer to Mayo, in Rochester, Minnesota. She had gotten some information that her condition may be more serious than she thought, and she had no one to go with her.

Then this afternoon, she came to an event I was assisting with, where she was going to give me a pin for 45 years of sobriety. She talked about being 50 and how that was important, as that meant she was five years old when I got sober. She mentioned not remembering me drinking at all.

Then she mentioned she did watch her dad drink and use drugs until his death at age 46. She went on to say that when I got into recovery, she and her brother went to Alatot and Alateen, and we broke the alcoholic family rules and that she was familiar with the family program.

So familiar that she still has much of the program memorized. I didn't know that!

She talked about how she and her brothers are doing well in life, and then she talked about her 8 children, all of whom are doing well, with a couple of kids who have dipped into alcohol/drugs but are doing well.

I was so proud of her as she started to tear up when talking about her father. I was told by others that it was so important for her to talk, as it showed how one person in recovery can affect generations!