17 again...except really tired...and wrinkles...and fatter

Kiki being the little Miss Type A that she is needed volunteer hours to fulfill her National Honor Society requirement for the year. She was excited to do some respite care for mom and dad so they could get away for the night. She was cute, because she really thought she would be all alone and when she found out I was going to hang around the general area she was a little disappointed. I don't know what she thought she was going to do. A raging party at my parents house? I think she just likes a break from all of the crazy over here.

Mom gave her a notepad and she followed her around taking copious notes about what GG's routine is and occasionally glanced at me with huge "I HAVE TO DO WHAT?" eyes.

Mom and Dad headed out to do what married people do in hotel rooms, except that they were with the actual people that they're married to which is always a nice touch.

Within moments Kiki had her pjs on (it wasn't even 6pm) and had scrounged around for a movie and found Lord of the Rings (very exciting for her for some reason that I don't understand). She got that movie going and her and GG sat there chatting the rest of the night. Chatting and watching SciFi. Wait, is that SciFi? Is there another name for that stuff? Fantasy? Some people's reality? Where was I? Oh, yeah, it was adorable watching Kenzie and her great grandma hang. She got to hear all about GG's mom's tilted pelvis. Several times.

My big plans got reduced to me walking to 7-11 and then driving around to find food for the 3 of us. Kiki wouldn't even go take GG to dinner with me! That's how content she was to sit on the couch and watch My precioouuusss. I love walking around Hillsboro. Or driving around Hillsboro. I try to stay in areas that haven't changed much. I did end up having to run to Winco at 11 and that was pretty much terrifying, but I had forgotten to pack toothbrushes for either one of us (I really did pack mine, but I didn't want to sound selfish, so I didn't tell her...and I don't want any cracks about me not even being able to FIND my toothbrush, cuz I totally did find it and it wasn't even in the yard this time).

I don't really understand who needs to go to Winco at 11pm on a Thursday night. There were 5 lanes open and long lines at every single one of them. What do they all need? I'm pretty sure they needed some hygiene products after standing in line with them for a while, but I, of all people, am not the one to judge them.

I'm starting to realize that I have nothing to really tell you about that night except that I had a great time. It was fun to be home. It was fun not to be a mom for one night. It was fun to wear my brother's sweats and sleep in my old room and laugh until 1 oclock in the morning.

My most daring move was eating some not-quite-ripe cherries in the back yard while Kenzie tried to convince GG to go to bed. And I stood out there and pointed and laughed while she flailed her arms and legs mouthing "what am i supposed to DO?"out the window at me and then turned to GG, completely composed, and sweetly tried to explain that she would be fine finding bedding for herself and perhaps GG should scoot on to bed now. I keep trying to convince Kiki to reenact her flailing for me so I can get it on film to look back at and remember later, but she's not cooperating.

Kiki was a perfect GG tender. She followed her notes and she spent the whole time talking to her and telling her patiently who she was and who her parents are over and over again. She only forgot one thing and it wasn't even important. It was just eye drops. Not prescription or anything, just drops, but she FREAKED out about forgetting. I hope she knows that it was a small error considering all that goes into GG's routine.

We're hoping to do it again sometime soon. Next time I hope to make dinner plans with a friend or something equally as exciting. Maybe I can convince someone to sneak out and meet me at 7-11. That would be REALLY like old times. I'm trying to convince Sam to come join in the slumber party and we can sneek out and peek in hot boys windows and get arrested for being peepers and go get fingerprinted together. Like that time that Heather and I got in trouble with the law and the intake officer looked at our driver's licenses, noted the weights being 120 vs 125 and started referring to us and "the fat one" and "the skinny one". Stick to your day job, Johnny Popo, we're traumatized here and you're making jokes. Jokes about teenage girls and their weight? Not funny.

Seriously, how fun would a cousin slumber party be? Man, I would love that. Sam has dubbed our idea "Operation can't end well". That's the best part of the plan so far. The name. Sam's so dang funny, how can it NOT end well!

I was telling Kiki later that I'm so grateful that my parents live in the house that I grew up in. That people still honk when they drive by. That my grandma is there and so close to visit. That dad still has a huge garden and cherry trees and I can still get in trouble for eating the cherries before they're ripe because I can never wait for them. It doesn't take much to make me happy.