Z the granny

Al and co dropped in this evening, minus Squiffany because she’s doing her St John Ambulance training on a Monday evening. I asked what they do usually – either go to MacDonalds or, if Al is on his own, he just waits in the car park. The lengths he’ll go to, not to call on his mother, I mentioned acidly. He knows I’m not really acid and he didn’t need to dissemble.

It’s Squiffany’s 17th birthday in less than a week. My birthday present to her is driving lessons, though I’m not sure that it’s really much of a present as her parents are obliged to pay for them anyway. But learning to drive is such a rite of passage, I do want to be part of it. I used to see so much of her when she was little, growing up next door, and they moved about 9 1/2 years ago and we’ve not spent all that much time together since. It’s been rather the same with Weeza’s children: not that they lived next door, of course, but they used to come and stay every week in the holidays until Weeza took a job where she had the school holidays free and could manage without. Rufus and Perdita are likely to be my last grandchildren, so I hope to have a few years of closeness with them, at least while they’re young. I don’t want to be clingy or needy, even when I feel like it. I know what old people can be like, I’d rather not be an obligation. I don’t think I am, not yet.

I turned out the porch. Why does everywhere get cluttered? It’s all gone tits-up in the last few weeks. Back under control now, but I don’t understand why – well, I don’t know. Is it that I don’t understand why I get chaotic or I don’t understand why others don’t? Anyway, I’ve realised that I didn’t give Ronan the removable parcel shelf from the Focus (that I hadn’t noticed in a week shows what the situation was) and I reminded myself that the Christmas tree stand hadn’t yet been put back in the shed.

The difference between me and Russell is that I have cleaned and tidied and put things in their proper place and he never, ever did. If I asked him to clear some stuff, he shoved it in a bag or box and hid it somewhere. I found so much stuff, after he died.

But I digress. It was lovely to see the family and I’d planned to have trout for dinner, but couldn’t quite be bothered, once they’d gone, so I scrambled some eggs. Just one slice of bread left, for breakfast toast. But I have got sourdough proving in the kitchen, ready to be baked tomorrow. I have to go out at 10 o’clock, so maybe I’d better get up early, as there are two loaves. Oops. I didn’t think that through.

4 comments on “Z the granny

    1. Z Post author

      Learning to drive is a necessary skill out here in the sticks. Squiffany hopes to go to university, because the direction she would like to take needs a degree. By the time she goes, the rules will have changed so that she’s likely to have a massive debt round her neck for her working life. The least we can do is help her learn to drive.

      Reply
  1. savannah49

    We moved back to Los Angeles to be near the grandchildren and their parents, of course, but mostly to spend time with the littles before they grew up without really knowing us. It’s funny the things they’ve learned from us and about us! xoxo

    Reply

Leave a Reply to savannah49 Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

 

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.