Kids once more

Youngest to oldest at a manageable age.

When the daughters were talking about coming home, Oldest Daughter, who was coming from Northern California, started talking about short-sheeting beds.  Oldest Daughter is the one who has two kids in college and one launched into the world.  She was looking forward to short sheeting.

She arrived late one evening with Youngest Daughter, who came from Florida.  It was late.  We'd had that problem at the airport.  Everyone was excited and talking all at once.  I told the kids that they had to make their own beds.  These two were sleeping on the trundle which was ready for the sheets.  Youngest kid went right to making her bed.  She'd had the longest trip.  Oldest daughter was chattering away about the latest news from our granddaughter who lives close by.  Oldest daughter was excited about seeing her.

Right behind Oldest Daughter's back, Youngest Daughter made Oldest Daughter's bed for her, short-sheeting her bed.  I didn't even notice and I was looking her way.  We left them to get ready for bed.  Oldest Daughter announced that she was keeping Youngest Daughter up all night to talk.  Looking at Youngest Daughter we felt she'd be asleep soon.  Never underestimate a sister's ability to spend the night catching up on everything.

We hadn't wound down ourselves yet when Oldest Daughter came stomping out to complain that Youngest Daughter had short-sheeted her bed.  "I thought she was being nice and making my bed, but she short-sheeted it!" Oldest Daughter complained.  It's nice that your children are on their own.  We just laughed at her.

You can see where the kids get it from.

My rule with company is that the first one up makes the coffee.  My rule with my daughters visiting is that they also do the cooking.  I make sure I am never the first one up.  In the morning, however, our daughters showed no sign of getting up when I wanted coffee so I made the first (and last) pot of their stay.  Frankly, I don't even know HOW to make 8 cups of coffee in my coffee pot.  Hubbie and I usually heat up the water pot so I can have coffee and he can have tea.

The Middle Kiddle and her boyfriend Lightfoot arrived by plane from Washington State that evening.  They had no sooner left their luggage in their bedroom and came to visit when the other two went to short-sheet their bed.  We were so busy talking with one and the other we didn't notice their absence.  Later we talked and talked.  Lightfoot had already been exposed to kid craziness before, but this time he got the full dose.  Everyone was up when these two went to bed.  My hubbie was seated on the sofa  between his two daughters and I was watching them.  No sooner had the couple gone to bed than hubbie and daughters went stark silent - ears hanging out, waiting.  Middle Kiddle came back in the room to say something and the three just burst out laughing.  Middle Kiddle was puzzled, but too tired to analyze.  Then we waited and waited.  If they looked at each other they burst out laughing.  Nothing happened.

After a long wait, Middle Kiddle came out and declared " You short-sheeted our bed!"  Don't look at me.  I just didn't stop them.  They're grown-ups after all.

Middle Kiddle explained in the morning that when Lightfoot saw the bed he just took it apart and began to remake it.  He wasn't going to say anything.  (I wouldn't have either.)  Middle Kiddle now understood the laughter and knew everyone was waiting for her to stomp out.

It was good to go to bed with all our daughters under our roof.  The days were full of fun and laughter.  One day they went to the beach just the four of them.  (Lightfoot has an amazing ability to be with our three crazies and stay same.)

I'm grinning while I tell the story.

Marilynne