You a Mad Woman!

With two of my grandchildren in their car seats we started to my son’s house to swim.  It is a joy for me to entertain the little darlings.  Mind you that is not meant to be disrespectful; I do love them and call them darlings.  My daughter who lives in Sioux City Iowa had come for a visit with her husband and their two children.  My daughter who lives in Oklahoma came the same week with her two.

Many times through out their visit I felt like we were having a family circus..  Three little boys under three and one girl soon to be four Katrina knew she was older and the only girl in the crowd so she took on the responsibility of being boss.  Preston on the other hand was oldest at his house and he was having problems recognizing that he had dropped in rank.  Thus the battles began.

I wanted all week to get involved in the disciplines I watched my daughters give.  The way I had disciplined and their way didn’t match by any stretch of the imagination.  Yet I bit my tongue and stayed low as the battles continued.

On our 45-minute trip into NLR, I listened in on the conversation going behind me.  Well it wasn’t much of a conversation, it was more like “No!”
Then “noooa!”  Preston was doing his best to get a message to Katrina to leave him alone.  “NO” he said more adamant and determined.

“Katrina” I said, “what are you doing to Preston?”

“Nothing” her little innocent voice resounded from her side of the car.

“NO!” Preston begged again,

“Katrina?”

“I not doing nothing!” she tried not to giggle.

I finally removed my seat belt and turned to see what was going on between them.  Katrina was reaching across the space between them and touching the back of his seat.  He did not want her touching him so each time she did it, he would protest a little louder “NO!”

We reached my sons home where they played the afternoon away.  I was not feeling the best from my recent surgery and was glad to start home where I hoped to get some rest from my darling guest.

We got them buckled snugly into their seat thinking they would be so exhausted from their playtime they would fall asleep.

Yet within five minutes of our road trip, I heard the familiar “NO!” 

I listened to their bickering as long as I dared before giving them one last warning.  “If I hear Preston one more time, I am going to spank you both.  Katrina don’t touch his seat, and Preston settle down!”

Well that lasted every bit of 10 minutes and it started again.  By now, it had ceased to be cute or funny, as I had had enough.

I quickly released my seat belt, got into a kneeling position, I leaned over my seat so I could reach them, and with my right hand, I swatted Preston on his left leg and Katrina on her right in swift succession..  In no uncertain terms I warned them to “Stop with the bickering”.  They both looked at me with a  surprised, “Why would you do that for” look and without another word, I turned to settle myself back in my seat for the duration of our trip..

Shortly from the back seat came this little voice “She a mad woman!”  Before I laughed out loud, I turned to ask Katrina what she had just said and her reply was exactly what I thought she said, “You a mad woman!”

A story that will never get old and one I will always remember.