Favorite Books

We all have favorite books. Some we read over and over again. My son loved the Arthur books and read them so much he could recite them from memory. Our school hosts a Books R Fun book fair frequently. Books are my weakness. I always end up spending $50 or more every time we have the book fair. Being an avid reader myself, I'm always looking for good books to share with my grandkids. They all know they can count on getting new books from their Gubba. I found a lovely book called, "Tea for Ruby" by Sarah Ferguson. Ruby is a precocious little girl that receives an invitation to tea with the Queen. She is so ecstatic, she runs to tell everyone. In her enthusiasm, she bumps and tousles people and receives a scolding each time. As she dresses for the occasion, her mother reminds her to use her manners. The ending in the book surprises you with the real identity of the Queen. Ruby is a little lady and remembers her manners while having tea with the Queen. My granddaughter, Makenzie loves this book. It has become a tradition to read this book during every visit. I always call and build her anticipation by planning the things we will do together when we visit. Our tea Party is the highlight, with cookies we bake together. I always call her Ruby, and you guessed it, I am the Queen.

Reality Check

Returning home, we had just a few days to unpack, do laundry, and pack our bags for our next trip. We were off again for 4 days. I had a conference at the beautiful Loew's Ventana Canyon Resort. A few days after returning from the conference, our daughter called. I could hear the little ones playing in the background. She called Donnie over and asked if he wanted to talk to Gubba. He got on the line and said in a sad voice, "Pawpaw". He was already missing his Papa. My husband is quiet, and although loving with the grandkids, I am the one that plays with them. That was my reality check; I come in second to his Papa.

A Grand Entrance

As soon as school was out for the summer, we headed to New Mexico to visit our grandkids. All day long, my granddaughter asks, "When will they be here?" along with a slew of other questions. The trip takes us about 8 hours, and I think of them the whole time--except while I'm sleeping. When we arrived, there they all were standing at the open door waiting for us. After hugging and kissing everyone, I realized my little granddaughter was no where in sight. "There she is! Go get her!" my husband pointed to a pillar by the house. I took off running across the sidewalk on my 3" high sandals. Cutting through the grass, my foot slipped off the side of the sandal, and I knew I was going down. With nothing to grab onto, I fell face first into the grass, scaring my grandkids half to death. I lay there a minute, breathless, assessing any injuries. I rolled over to a circle of concerned faces staring down at me. The hilarity of it all hit me then and I lay there laughing to cover the pain. Needless to say, I spent the rest of the visit moving carefully around with a fractured rib, gulping Ibuprofen.