We drove Masha home at 6:00 pm Sunday night. Masha and Tanya made greeting cards all Saturday evening and Sunday morning. In the afternoon they went outside and raked and burned leaves. Kids seem to love fires. Tanya sorted the apples we had stored in an outside shed and I hauled them into the summer kitchen where they will stay until it gets really cold. Three laundry sized baskets will last a while.
Masha went with me to walk the dogs. For a long while we walked hand-in-hand. Her idea. I guess I am a pretty good step-dedushka and it feels good. We stopped by the river on our way home and the dogs immediately bailed in off the edge of the road and swam out and back. That water had to be cold! Then they chased each other through the grass and tall reeds until they dried off while Masha skipped stones in the water. Throwing rocks into water is something else that all kids seem to love.
Tanya was dead beat tired by evening. One-on-one with a 9 year old for a day and a half can wear you out. She was too tired to sleep so she watched movies on the internet until 4:00 am and then fell asleep upstairs so she wouldn't wake me coming to bed.
Kuchma had decided not to go prowling at 10 pm as usual. He was sleeping on his couch blanket (dirty feet) when I went to bed and at 5:00 am, I heard him go upstairs looking for someone to let him out. He makes more noise going up and down stairs than I do. I blindly stumbled out of bed and bumped the bureau, tipping over an ancient 75 cm red glass decorator vase. It fell gracefully but landed hard.
When I told Tanya in the morning, she was not impressed. Said I needed a bedroom with only a bed in it. Reminds me of an Australia joke about a kangaroo but we won't go there. And for someone who stubs her foot against the bed as often as she, I didn't think she had much room to talk about me but of course one does not say that. And she didn't break any vases.
Masha went with me to walk the dogs. For a long while we walked hand-in-hand. Her idea. I guess I am a pretty good step-dedushka and it feels good. We stopped by the river on our way home and the dogs immediately bailed in off the edge of the road and swam out and back. That water had to be cold! Then they chased each other through the grass and tall reeds until they dried off while Masha skipped stones in the water. Throwing rocks into water is something else that all kids seem to love.
Tanya was dead beat tired by evening. One-on-one with a 9 year old for a day and a half can wear you out. She was too tired to sleep so she watched movies on the internet until 4:00 am and then fell asleep upstairs so she wouldn't wake me coming to bed.
Kuchma had decided not to go prowling at 10 pm as usual. He was sleeping on his couch blanket (dirty feet) when I went to bed and at 5:00 am, I heard him go upstairs looking for someone to let him out. He makes more noise going up and down stairs than I do. I blindly stumbled out of bed and bumped the bureau, tipping over an ancient 75 cm red glass decorator vase. It fell gracefully but landed hard.
When I told Tanya in the morning, she was not impressed. Said I needed a bedroom with only a bed in it. Reminds me of an Australia joke about a kangaroo but we won't go there. And for someone who stubs her foot against the bed as often as she, I didn't think she had much room to talk about me but of course one does not say that. And she didn't break any vases.
Masha does love you, doesn't she? What a sweetheart.
ReplyDeleteToo bad about the vase, pops. How old was it? (That sounds like I'm setting you up for a joke.)
She does indeed and it feels so good to be a Dedushka. The vase was in the flat that Roman and Lina bought. Tanya liked it and Lina did not.
DeleteYou're right about kids and fire. My step-grandson was about Masha's age when he first began helping me to burn stacks of palm fronds and other dead branches that would build up here over the winter. To say he was transfixed is putting it mildly. I would sit nearby for hours while he carefully poked and prodded the flaming stack with a special metal-pronged rake we keep just for this purpose. I couldn't leave because even though he became quite expert at burning the stuff down to the last little coal, he was too excited to be left alone with the fire. Toward the end of the burn, our favourite thing was to wash off the rake-head with a hose and then stick marshmallows on the prongs, hold the rake over the coals and toast the marshmallows beautifully. Sam's now 14 but still enjoys coming up to do the burning. Fire must appeal to something primeval in us all.
ReplyDeleteI think you are right, it is a primeval instinct to be fascinated by fire/flames. Think of the popularity of fireplaces. Horrible things that suck the heat out of the house, require a great deal of work starting and cleaning, etc. Yet there is something wonderful about sitting in front of a fire.
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