Barb's Evolving Project: Door County Memories # 5 and #6 - Monster Juice and Sammy the Seagull

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Door County Memories # 5 and #6 - Monster Juice and Sammy the Seagull

Door County Memory #5 - A Woman Who Knows How to Make Monster Juice

“Where is SHE?” Sam would ask, and we all made a game of asking him her name. Grandma’s friend Mandy made it up for the last few days of the week, and her arrival was just in time. Grandma and Mommy had run out of ways to try to exhaust a 3-year-old, and Mandy came with tricks and games and toys. Sammy’s new BFF Mandy even helped him make special monster spray to keep the monsters away at night. And when we got back home Saturday night he sprayed his room before bed. “Just four sprays, Mommy. If you spray more than that it doesn’t work.”

Door County Memory #6 - Stories with TT

“Tell me a story about Sammy Seagull, Mommy,” he said as we laid next to each other in bed. It was well after 10pm and the baby was finally quiet in the other room. Whether it was because she had fallen asleep or Grandma had picked her up that night, I don’t remember. But Sam and I had fallen into bed exhausted, and he wanted a story. He and TT had been telling stories earlier that day, stories about the adventures of Sammy the Seagull, and the sad lake that didn’t have any waves until Sam the Boy came and laughed and made waves.

As exhausted as we made her, Grandma was amazing with both Sam and Eva, and I loved watching them all together. Grandma and Sam told stories and read books and explored the beach. Grandma and Eva cuddled and talked and ate mangoes and peaches and zucchini and entertained each other at 3am when everyone else wanted to sleep. The three of them wrestled in the shade of the big pine tree and Grandma read books about “Hide and Squeak” and “Tooley, Tooley!” They ventured to the farmers market and The Farm and the beach. When TT told me she’d gotten a text message from Zachary saying that it would be great if she lived to be a hundred, we all agreed.

Thank you TT for another wonderful Door County vacation! I thought I was living my life to the fullest before these children came along, but really I never knew how full life could be.