Kids Do (And Say) the Darndest Things!

(Above photo courtesy of Colourbox)

Although my three daughters are adults now with children and families of their own, I oftentimes find myself reminiscing about the days when they were small, their antics, the things they said and did, so I decided to compile some of my favorites.  Try not to laugh too hard!

One of my favorites involves my oldest daughter, Courtney.  When my children were small, one of my favorite things to do on a Saturday morning was pack them up and drive to the Palm Beach Mall.  I didn’t have a dime to spend, but it doesn’t cost anything to look.  With the twins in their stroller and Courtney on a harness, I’d walk from one end of the mall to the other.  One of my all-time favorite stores to go in was Wicks & Sticks, a specialty candle shop.  Imagine, if you will, a bowl of multi-colored, various shaped wax pieces that, in the eyes of a 5-year old, looked just like candy.  In fact, if you poured a box of Nerds into the palm of your hand, the likeness would be the same.  After looking around for a bit and smelling all those wonderful scents, we exited the store and I noticed that Courtney was awfully quiet, which was extremely unusual.  When I looked down at her, she had the funniest look on her face like she’d just bitten into a lemon.   I asked her if she was okay, at which time she proceeds to spit out a mouthful of those wax pieces.  I have never let her forget about that…and I never will.  That’s what she gets for trying to be slick and steal a handful of “candy!”

I was sitting on my front porch with my granddaughter, Jayda, discussing the way things were in school when I was a child, how we started our days, the fact that I really did walk to school every day, and other general conversation about me as a child.  Jayda looked up at me, an extremely serious look on her face like she was in deep thought.  “Grandma?” she says.  “Was everything in black and white back then?”  Sure, Jayda, just like we were filming an episode of Leave It To Beaver!

Another one involving Jayda was a discussion about music and how I used to “spin my vinyl,” and dance.  (In fact, I still have 2 record players, 45’s dating all the way back to my childhood, and albums that I still play.)  She didn’t know what the term “vinyl” meant, so I told her, “it’s a record.  Do you know what a record is, Jayda?”  “Yep,” she answered.  “It’s a big, black CD.”  Close enough for me!

If you know anyone who has twins, then I’m sure you’ve heard stories about how close they are, that if one feels pain so does the other.  As the mother of identical twin girls, I can tell you with certainty, those facts are true.  But I’m going to take it a step further and tell you that I have no doubt that they also have a secret language (before they actually start talking) that only they understand, and in the case of my twins, they were masters at conspiring!  On more than one occasion when I had them in their playpen while cooking or cleaning, I could hear them speaking gibberish and laughing.  When I would check in on them, I would watch them for several minutes to see what was up.  What I heard was “goo-goo-ga-ga-blah-blah…laughter)  Translation:  “Hey, will you hand me that toy?”  “This one?” “No, the other one.” “Okay, here you go.” “Thanks!”  I’m telling you, they KNEW what each other was saying.  They were like little aliens speaking in a language that was indecipherable!

My nephew, Shane, contracted encephalitis as an infant, and at 3 months old, underwent major brain surgery to release swelling on his brain.  The outlook was grim and the doctors didn’t give my sister much hope for his recovery.  What they didn’t’ take into account was the fact that Shane belonged to a family of Christians where prayer came as second nature.  Every member in our church was praying, every person in our community was praying, our Pastor came to Miami to visit.  The specialists told my sister not to get her hopes up (don’t EVER tell that to a Christian that serves a mighty God!), and that even if Shane did recover, he would be a vegetable for the rest of his life and would never be able to do the things that “normal” kids his age would do.  So, let me tell you about Michael Shane Peacock.  Not only did he survive, he is not a vegetable, he played baseball, rode a bike and even had a bad accident and busted his face up pretty good, graduated high school, attended School for the Blind (he is legally blind from the illness), learned how to take care of himself and live on his own, is now 37 years old, works two jobs and has a precious wife named Tami.  I tell you all of this so that you can fully appreciate the story I’m about to tell you.

When my niece and nephews were little, there was no place they loved going more than to my house.  They were there practically every day and on the weekends, especially Shane.  He was extremely close with my girls, and him and Courtney are only 2 months apart in age.  Shane loved his PB & J’s, so I had to make sure I always had peanut butter at my house.  But Shane was particular and would only eat Peter Pan.  Well, I wasn’t financially able to afford the finer things, like name brand peanut butter, but I did have an empty Peter Pan jar and filled it up with a cheaper brand.  Sure enough, Shane asked me to fix him a PB & J, so I did, cut it in half, and placed it down in front of him.  “Ummm, what kind of peanut butta you put on it?”  “The kind you like, Shane.  Peter Pan.”  “Nuh-unh, you ain’t got no Peter Pan, Gwenna Kay.”  “Yes, Shane, it’s Peter Pan.” “Show me.”  I did.  He was a happy camper when I showed him the jar and proceeded to eat every bite of that sandwich.  As I said, Shane is now 37 years old, but I don’t think he’s aware of this…I certainly never told him!!

My life is filled with precious memories like this.  These kids, mine and my sisters, are what made my life whole.  I miss those days quite a lot.

Do you have any funny stories to share about your kids or grandkids?  I’d love to hear them!

Until next time…take care and God bless!!

Glenda