Poppy, Let Me Drive, I think I Can!

I remember back when I was a child the privilege of getting to sit in the front seat of the car. Sometimes whenever I got to sit in the front seat my dad would either let me change the gears or steer the wheel as we went down the driveway. I felt so privileged whenever I did this.

We also sat in seats without seat belts and the cars that we rode in were built like tanks. We would lay down in the back seat and sleep, play, or just ride and let our minds wander.Sometimes we even lay up in the back window of the car and watched our world pass by in a blurr.

If there were a bunch of kids we would sit in the back of our station wagon with the sead folded down and we could then play games as we rode down the road.

Kids of today don't know what they are missing. We have cars with airbags in the dash, steering wheel, doors, seats and in the seat belts. We have cushion material in the dashes, seat belts, child seats, safety glass, self parking, side sensors, blind spot sensors and self braking just to mention a few and yet our children are restrained in the rear seats of the car until they get to be a certain age and weight.

So it's easy to understand why they want to drive the car because they see their parents doing it and all kids want to be like their parents when they are little.

We were out in the garage and Chloe had been riding her scooter and her bike when all of a sudden she decided that she wanted to sit in the driver's seat of our SUV and play like she was driving it.

She opens the door and climbs in, as she sits in the seat she sees that the seat is too far back so she readjusts her seat then she adjusts the rear view mirror and then the door mirrors. Tilts down the wheel to be comfortable for her and then asks me for the keys. I ask her why she wants the key and her reply is to change the radio station from mine to her kind of music.

I let her know that I don't have the keys and that she will have to play like she has set the radio to her favorite station.

 
I then ask her where she is going, and she said that she has to go to Macy's because today is the start of their big sale. I ask, "How do you know this?" She looks at me like I am crazy and said, "It has been all over the T.V. and in the ads in the newspaper!"

Wether, I want to believe it or not, my little granddaughter is growing up so fast. I am just glad that I can enjoy each time I have with her because she is so precious.

Happy Birthday, Poppy

It is that time of year again, my birthday. They are just another day and I'm glad to have one because I know that I am still alive.



We picked Chloe up from school as she ended the year for first grade. It has been a busy year for her and a good year for us as well.

I never thought back when I was a little boy that I would ever be this age. I thought that when you got this age you were old and had one foot on a banana peel. Well some days I feel older than other days, but the age that I am is just a number.

 












Yes, I am a senior citizen, and I qualify for those senior discounts, and if I have to show my ID to prove I am that age I will because I have earned it.

But whenever I am with our granddaughter, I feel that I am much younger than my years, because she brings alive the kid in me. We both forget that I am older and play games of my youth and games that she wants to play.

I'll admit that I never played Barbies with any of my nieces, or Ken dolls with my nephews. When I was little everyone that played with dolls played with baby dolls.

It's another world altogether when you play with these dolls that are grown up dolls. So we just play with them as if they were regular people.

Back to my Birthday, Chloe was glad that it was a "Special Day," because on special occasions there is usually cake and most cakes have a lot of icing on them and she loves icing better than the cake.

Grandmother had gotten a small cake since I didn't need a large cake and we all had a piece and Chloe had our icing.

The cake has been devoured and another year has past as I look forward to another year. I am thankful for each day and hope that I use my time wisely.

Schools Out, Schools Out...,

Well, another years has come and gone in her many years of schooling.

She has learned a lot of new things this year in the first grade that she will carry with her for many years ahead.

She learned how to diagram a sentence with, nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs. I didn't learn this in school until the third of fourth grade. She has learned how to do word problems in math. She has read many books over the school year. She has preformed parts in several plays.

This year she has been one busy little girl.

She can lose the school uniform for these months off and wear anything that she wants to wear.

But finally the day that she looked forward to last fall has finally come for her. Summer break, three months of doing anything that she can think up to do.

She gets to sleep in late, visit her Papaw, Poppy and Pop. Hopefully she gets to go to the beach as well as an amusement park.

She has many plans for this summer and I look forward to sharing some of this time with her.

Her Smart Idea, Two For One

Well it's another day and I don't want to get up out of bed, but it hardly seems like I slept very long. Poppy has the camera again and he is going to try and get my picture. He just thinks he is!!

Well I finally made it out of bed and had some chocolate milk for breakfast and some of Grandmother's good fried bacon. I love it every weekend she will fry me bacon because she knows that I love it. Another thing that I like that she makes is cookies and cake icing. The icing is so smooth and just slides down your throat.

Well what are we going to do today? I know for one thing I will get Poppy to take me to McDonald's so I can get a Happy Meal and a toy and then play with my friends on the inside playground. If you haven't played on that playground you don't know what you have been missing all your life.

Daddy's cousin have always called Grandmother, Aunt Clearance because she is always looking for a bargain. She knows a good deal when she see's one. Buy one get one free, two for one, manager's special's, red tag, you name it she knows it.

Well on the way to McDonald's this morning while I was thinking and talking to Poppy about Grandmother and her savings I got this bright idea. I don't know why I hadn't thought of it sooner. So I passed my idea to Poppy. Poppy I want a Happy Meal today with the Cheeseburger plain and chocolate milk and fries and you can have my yogurt and you can get a Happy Meal as well. You still get a sandwich and fries and a drink and yes it is less but it will help you lose weight. I was thinking that she was so thoughtful and wants to help me lose weight.

After getting the two girls Happy Meals and getting to our table and after the blessing, Chloe said look Poppy this way instead of one toy I get two. Pretty smart of me huh!!

She has just about finished her lunch and is getting to play with all of her McDonald friends. I wish that I had brought some ear plugs because with all of these kids its going to get loud.

After a few hours of playing she was tired and ready to go home. Shortly after arriving home mommy called and let us know that she was on her way. Soon she arrived and our weekend was gone but I know that Poppy and I had another great weekend.

Play Date With Poppy

This is the day that I've looked forward to all week. Well it's finally the weekend again and it time for me to turn Poppy back into a child again. When I do this we have so much fun and I have a grown up pal.

At my house my Mimi plays dolls with me and we have so much fun, but when I'm at Poppy's house we have just as much fun usually more because he makes everything an adventure. He may play dolls with me but it is different than playing dolls with Mimi. At home we have Barbie houses, cars, clothes, furniture if you name it we probably have it. Mimi, mommy and me all grew up with Barbies and that is why we have so many.

My Poppy and Grandmother had a son and they didn't have Barbie dolls, so I had to teach Poppy all about Barbie's. They are more of a grownup type doll instead of baby dolls that Grandmother grew up with. Now whenever I get in the mood to play baby dolls I can play with grandmother's dolls.

My dad had trucks and cars and football, basketball and baseball cards, Pokemon Cards. He had all of  the Ninga Turtles. He loved to play video games on the gameboy and on Sega but I don't care anything about that, so now you see why I had to teach Poppy about Barbies.

I am usually the Director because then I can tell him what kind of Party that we are going to have and he does all of the artwork and props. We have a big Party for the Theme of the Month. Like New Years, Valentine's Day, Shamrock etc..

We play outside and it was Poppy that showed me how to roll down the yard laying down. We play hiding seek, chase, freeze tag, Red Rover, Red Light, Green Light. We have so much fun together and he makes me feel so special.

Well this has been a fun Friday afternoon and tomorrow we will do it all over again and just wait and see what Poppy and will be doing.

Mother's Day Ladies

L.to R.: Violet Peterson, Sue Griffin and Esther Osenga

Most of our friends were out of town for a "Spring Special Meeting," in Tupelo so our meeting this morning was light in number. There were eight of of there and all stayed for lunch.

L, to R.: Jim Griffin, Sue Griffin and Esther Osenga

Mom and Pop enjoy the fellowship of the other ladies and all had a great lunch and an enjoyable visit afterwards.

Doing My Homework At Poppy's

During the week whenever Poppy picks me up I like to stop at Sonic first and get him to read me all of the names of the Slushes that they sell. Poppy makes it so much as he reads from the list adding names to the drinks as he reads, He has names like Blushing Cherry and Gushing Orange and Women Lemon, Gulping Grape, Red in the middle, green on top, makes your lips go flippity flop for Watermelon, just to name a few. I pick out my Slush and he orders it and then we are on our way home.

I like to get my homework done as soon as I get there so that I can play before my mommy picks me up. So I go to the kitchen table and get out my homework, and Poppy is right there to make sure I am doing it right.

As I write my spelling words Poppy spells out the letters as I write. Then as I right the next word he has me spell out the letters as I write. Then he checks my spelling words to make sure that I have done them correctly and that my penmanship is neat before we put them away in my notebook.

Grandmother just loves for Poppy to take my picture, but after a while it gets boring and Poppy says he can take boring pictures to. He is so funny sometimes, make that all the time, but hey, I wouldn't want it any other way.

  
When we start on my math homework, Poppy has me read aloud the instructions. We are doing word math problems in the first grade. Poppy laughs and said he didn't do word problems until he was in the third grade. I tell Poppy we do it in the first grade because we are smarter. ha ha ha!!

The first word math problem: Sue grew a flower that was a foot tall. And Tom grew a flower that was 11 inches tall. Whose flower was the tallest?________ How tall in inches was Sue's flower? ______

Poppy goes to find a foot ruler? What is a foot ruler, is it the same as a ruler? Well he couldn't find a foot ruler but he said he found a yard stick. Wonder why they call it a yard stick!? It would take a long time to measure the yard with that. He really needs a measuring tape for that. Oh well maybe he can help me after all.

He explains that a yard stick is three (3) feet long. He has me look at the yard stick and tell him how many inches is under where it says one (1) foot. I look, and then I say, twelve inches. Then he ask me how tall was Sue's flower. I look at the math problem and then I read one foot, the he asked me how many inches on the yard stick is one foot and I say 12. So he ask me, How tall in inches was Sue's flower? And I say 12 inches and then record the answer to my homework page. So if Sue's flower is 12 inches and Tom's flower is 11 inches tall, Who's flower  is the tallest? Sue's and I record that answer to my homework. We do this on every problem and it is so easy when you have the measuring stick to help you. Now I know that 12 inches is one foot, 24 inches is two foot and 36 inches is three foot.

Poppy is taller than two yard sticks and I am taller than one. Poppy how many yardsticks are you around?

I think it time to put away your finished homework and go play.