Grandmom Duties
After traveling 623 air miles from home, I am now in Georgia. Some of my time here will be spent performing what Darrel and I like to call ‘grandmom duties.’ Supervising three independent and mature grandchildren while their parents are away. I must admit, many times I found myself in unfamiliar territory. Like when standing at the bus stop with 9-year-old Aniyah, waiting for her school bus to arrive. At 6:30 am, it was pitch black and my head snapped in the direction of every strange sound that I heard. A loud bird’s cry came from across the street. It was followed by the same cry from somewhere behind me. In my imagination, pterodactyls were circling ready to swoop on me. Acorns falling from the trees up and down the dark street sounded like boulders thrown from up high. I heard a strange noise in the distance. Trying to seem nonchalant, I asked Aniyah, “Honey what’s that buzzing sound?” I took her quick, side-eye to mean, ‘my grand-mom is hearing things.’ The school bus finally arrived, as an unfazed Aniyah took her sweet time getting on the bus. I smiled and waved but was thinking, “Little girl, hurry and get on that bus before a pterodactyl or boulder sized acorn gets me!” The teenage twins, EJ and Evan left for school shortly after. Now alone, I put in a load of clothes. I thought I would relax and catch up on my reading. I heard a racket that caused me to jump up and run in two different directions at the same time. I must have over-loaded the washer machine. When I went to check, it had left its place beside the dryer and was trying to walk out of the laundry room.
I had other unfamiliar moments. The first few days of my trip were spent with my sister-in-law, Gayl. She lives in an established community, not zoned for farming. My sis failed to warn me about what I would encounter. The neighbors around her have farm animals who wander the neighborhood. I was not prepared for chickens crossing her yard to get to another neighbor’s yard where they like to lay their eggs. Hearing two dueling roosters cock-a-dooing in the wee hours, and a goat chiming in, was equally unexpected. When Gayl told me about stopping her car so piglets could cross the street, this city slicker was done.
During my visits to Georgia, my favorite familiar things remain constant. Our family always gathers together with lots of food and fun. Unfortunately, due to positive Covid results, there was no final marching band performance nor battle of the bands for high school seniors EJ and Evan. We gathered for a family prayer as their mom Kahlilah and Auntie Keisha headed off on their much deserved getaway cruise. We celebrated the twin’s full scholarships to Central State University. Their dad, Ebon, cooked an endless supply of food on the grill. Then we settled in for a long evening of playing Uno. The next day we gathered for my niece Jai’s flag football game. A quarterback with an impressive arm, Jai had the ball in hand for their championship win. Afterwards we were back at the house with more good food and games of Uno. Granddaughter Jamie, husband Rashad and baby Zola joined us. Rashad held up the Uno corner making the game livelier. We gathered when uncle Malik came into town and when big sister Azariah arrived. Aunt Gayl’s tasty spaghetti was ready, Ebon had the crock-pot full of jerk chicken, and the Uno cards were shuffled and cut.
Our Uno games are not nice. We are competitive and boisterous. We play for hours, until the last man is standing. As we played into the night, Gayl tried to ease the competitiveness by pulling the senior citizen card. After reminding Evan he will soon be a college freshman, we stole his ‘senior for life’ chant. The young folks did not go easy on us. In fact, they took it up a notch. We were skipped, reversed, had our hands shuffled and had to draw additional cards. Gayl would jokingly say, ‘This table is just too disrespectful!”
I am proud that I was not derelict in my grandmom duties. I made a good effort to learn how to lay down Aniyah’s edges. I also made juicy hamburgers. With just a little coaxing, the kids said they were just as good as granddad’s. I have enjoyed my time here. Attending Bald Rock Baptist Church with Gayl, niece Aria, and grandson Evan was special. My introduction to our friend Guy’s wife was via a television program. As Mary sang, her beautiful voice blessed us. Seeing 2-year-old cousins, Zola and JaSai playing together was a treat. The long conversation I had with niece Sandee will be treasured. The breakfast table talk with grand children will always be remembered.
I am grateful for the opportunity to spend time with my Georgia family and to be of help when needed. I hold these moments dear. In a few days, I will head back home. Before I leave, I will gather with the family once more and eat delicious food. We will end the evening playing hours of competitive, boisterous, and disrespectful games of Uno.
Uno out,
Amanda 😎
Family photos from private collection. Thumbnail Photo by KoolShooters from Pexels
