Fond memories

I was just chatting with my Mom about the girls visit this summer. Emily and Anna are counting the days (13) until they arrive in Cazenovia, where they will spend 3 weeks with my parents. Mathilde and I won't be making the trip this year (the uncertainty around the length of my treatment made it difficult to order tickets in time), so, that means my parents will have the girls alone, together with the girls' cousin Madeleine (8 yrs)

The 3 girls love everything about the lake - swimming, boating, s'mores by the campfire, sunbathing on the boat house, pushing Grampy in the water. My Mom and I were chatting about this, and my Mom pointed out that the girls even love the rules that come with a life by the lake. And she is right. The girls are so proud of the way they remember to ask if it is okay to go on the boat house, to ask if it is okay to go IN the boat house, to ask if it is okay to go on the dock, to ask if it is okay to go in the water. After about three days of this incessant asking, I think the adults are so fed up with up it that they just want to scream "YES! YES! YES! Of course you can go on the boathouse - you just stepped off it 3 friggin' seconds ago!"

This brings me to my fond memory. Back a few years ago (I think Emily was 6 and Madeleine was 5), in order to eliminate trips up to the house, and thus put a damper on some of the relentless asking, my Mom got the bright idea that she would leave one of those little plastic, kiddy potties at the boat house. The idea was that if the girls had to pee (or as she says "tinkle") they could do it in the potty (instead of running all the way up to the house). The pee would then be emptied in the bushes, and play would continue.

My Mom showed it to the girls, and they giggled at first because they knew they were far too old for a little kiddy potty. But being enthusiastic about all things involving the lake, it didn't take long before they thought it was pretty cool. And it wasn't more than an hour after that, that my Mom discovered that one of her sweet grand-daughters had taken a big, giant crap in the little kiddy potty.

After that, I guess she decided another question to answer and a few trips up to the house weren't so bad.