The Randa Girls are no longer girls but young beautiful women, I noticed a new photo of them on their mums Facebook page. I was on my way back from Liverpool , seeing some old friends
Eight years ago they were little girls
And I occasionally still miss babysitting them after school, it was the last real time I enjoyed being truly silly
Children notice everything.
We had just bathed and towel dried Mary and placed her back into her crate when Eve noticed a big blob of curry sauce on the oven glove which was looped over the oven door handle .
" Errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrhhhhhhhh! " she called out rather theatrically " Wot's that?"
I made a show of sniffing the brown lump and told both girls that I thought it " smelt of poo"
Suddenly I had both girl's rapt attention
I poked the lump with my finger and lifted it to my nose
" yes it's poo!" I announced and as the girls looked on with surprised frowns
I popped my finger into my mouth
Screaming filled the kitchen.
Late in life , I have learnt the lesson that children love and need silliness.
And the " smuttier" and " dirtier" the silly activity...the happier they become.
Unfortunately I don' t recall my parents ever being silly.
When I picked the girls up from school yesterday afternoon, Eve asked if we could " smash the apples again" ....as " it was fun" We had picked apples from the orchard and had jumped on the soft apples with our shoes so that the geese could feed on the bits the last time they came around after school.
Last night , when affable despot Jason arrived to pick his girls up , he was faced with suddenly dipped curried digits and shouts of "Dad! I have poo on my finger" , and like all experienced parents he smiled a patient smile .
I covered the fingerholes before I replaced the curry in the oven.
We had just bathed and towel dried Mary and placed her back into her crate when Eve noticed a big blob of curry sauce on the oven glove which was looped over the oven door handle .
" Errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrhhhhhhhh! " she called out rather theatrically " Wot's that?"
I made a show of sniffing the brown lump and told both girls that I thought it " smelt of poo"
Suddenly I had both girl's rapt attention
I poked the lump with my finger and lifted it to my nose
" yes it's poo!" I announced and as the girls looked on with surprised frowns
I popped my finger into my mouth
Screaming filled the kitchen.
Late in life , I have learnt the lesson that children love and need silliness.
And the " smuttier" and " dirtier" the silly activity...the happier they become.
Unfortunately I don' t recall my parents ever being silly.
When I picked the girls up from school yesterday afternoon, Eve asked if we could " smash the apples again" ....as " it was fun" We had picked apples from the orchard and had jumped on the soft apples with our shoes so that the geese could feed on the bits the last time they came around after school.
Last night , when affable despot Jason arrived to pick his girls up , he was faced with suddenly dipped curried digits and shouts of "Dad! I have poo on my finger" , and like all experienced parents he smiled a patient smile .
I covered the fingerholes before I replaced the curry in the oven.
Blowing eggs in the garden
I am a huge fan of silliness, even in a cancer hospital:)
ReplyDeleteMe too, anywhere it can lighten the soul
DeleteLess than 2 weeks ago I visited my younger cousin who was at the end in a Hospital room - I took birthday gifts one week early knowing the outcome - I sang Happy birthday , gave him a choccie, a funny hat and a badge - he smiled and wanted to wear the hat x
ReplyDeleteThat was kind
DeleteI laughed out loud at the curry poo story!
ReplyDeleteIt’s not hard for a nurse to think of poo
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI am glad it was curry sauce.
ReplyDeleteMe too
DeleteWe all need a bit of silliness once in a while. I'd hate to be so grown up that I couldn't appreciate a daft moment or two! xx
ReplyDeleteMe too, sometimes the sillier the better
DeleteMy parents weren't young when I was born and I don't remember their
ReplyDeleteacting silly either.Being
kind in unexpected ways
was their way to make me feel treasured,Dad taking me out for a restaurant meal,Mama buying me gorgeous clothes, Mary
That’s lovely x
DeleteAh, silliness is the spice of life! Silliness remembered is a joy, too, You're never too old top be silly.
ReplyDeleteHugs!
Amen
DeleteOh how sweet xxx
ReplyDeleteLee
And a challenge sometimes , I remember them back combing William and brushing winnies teeth with my toothbrush
DeleteTwo very lucky young women. What a gift you are to that family.
ReplyDeleteAnd them to me
DeleteMy Dad spent a huge part of his childhood in hospital with Diphtheria, so didn't really get the chance to learn silliness, but my Mum was the eldest of four children, and could be incredibly silly.
ReplyDeleteIt didn't take her long to get Dad trained in the art of silliness and giggling, most of my childhood memories are of laughter and cuddles!
The Randa girls have grown up SO fast, it's always the same with children, it seems as though one blinks, and they're suddenly adults! X
It’s strange how things change so quickly
DeleteThe girls seem to have grown up so quickly! I remember you looking after them sometimes. I bet they loved visiting - all the silliness and all the animals. Great fun!
ReplyDeleteThis made me smile
DeleteEve Randa
Me you and liv should make zombie ginger bread men again, for old times sake 😂❤️xxxx
The previous reply, eves reply to me on Facebook
DeleteMy girls would have loved you as a sitter...especially the troublemaker Emily. They are grown now, one with kids of her own, and Emily in grad school, making her way to living and working in Europe. But you would have been in demand in our household.
ReplyDeleteThose two small girls taught me a great deal I can tell you
DeleteNo, no, NO! Those girls cannot be that grown up! It's only been a few months since you babysat them. I swear!
ReplyDeleteAfter having four kids and five grandkids, I still cannot fathom how quickly children grow.
You need silliness and a sense of humour..Pirate had it to the end!
ReplyDeleteThat’s lovely , xx I so sorry for your loss deArheart x you did him proud
DeleteCondolences, please take good care of yourself.
DeleteI am trying..and others are keeping an eye
DeleteNo silliness in my home growing up, we were very serious, best I recall. Focused. Maybe why I have no sense of humor.
ReplyDeleteLovely to see the grown up Randa girls, I rem well the fun you had being the sitter.
lizzy
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteToo flippant I was wrong not everyone is privy to a sense of humour
DeleteOh I missed your deleted response. You can email me. My comment was meant seriously [ooo irony?].
DeleteI was being too flippant
DeleteMy parents were not silly either, in fact you are being silly was a form of censure. You can be sure I left plenty of room for my children to be silly.
ReplyDeleteIt was a bit hit and miss in my house, we could be silly and then the "you're being too silly" rebuke would come out and I would be all confused again.
DeleteMy family were not at all silly but my husband, was very silly with his five kids. They were always being silly with each other. The last time I remember silly was in Grenada, happy hour, with a big round table full of yachties playing pass the pigs. The comments were so funny after each toss of the pigs. Of course lots of rum was involved. My girls were very silly when playing with their cats. They used to hang the cats around their necks, come down the stairs saying “see my new minkasouris” after watching the Flintstones. Gigi
ReplyDeleteIt wasn't a word we were allowed to say but just hearing the word 'bum' would send my brother and I into gales of laughter in our pre teen years. A decade or so ago there was a children's book published called, 'The Day my Bum went Psycho', and it was very popular with children. Innocent times. My mother could be silly at times...in fact too silly.
ReplyDeleteYou've seen these girls grow in to fine young women. Shared memories are treasured. You are like family.
ReplyDeleteI find it is easier to be silly when I'm around children.
ReplyDeleteI have long given up on speculating why you are so occupied with excrement. Yours, the dogs', your patients. Freud would have to say one thing, Jung another. The latter more benign. So I shall not dwell on your potty training. Clearly another of your mother's failings. Just a word of warning: A lifelong friend of mine [do call him an arsehole since that comes easy to you] recently had two thirds of his intestines removed. Yes, that tight arsed he was; well, still is.
ReplyDeleteHowever, call it semantics, "silly" is not what I would call children [and their parents] having fun.
Other than that, how lovely for you to add two more blossoming flowers to the bunch of Chic Eleanor et al.
Which reminds me: You haven't mentioned Nu for a while. Has she fallen off the perch?
Canary greetings,
U
PS If you can't get your brain round Carl Rogers you are doomed.
Please do not blame his mother for his fascination with excrement. I am certain his mother had some very nice attributes otherwise he and his sisters would not be such kind people.
DeleteOoh, you're in fine 'bitching' order this morning U.
DeleteDid you have to train especially to be such a horrible creature, or were you born that way?
Trawling the internet searching for people to upset is a very boring hobby, but maybe that suits your Germanic nature!
Lol ok let’s review!
Delete“ I have long given up on speculating why you are so occupied with excrement. Yours, the dogs', your patients”
THATS GOOD ,
“So I shall not dwell on your potty training. Clearly another of your mother's failings.”
YOU AND HER WOULD HAVE GOT ON LIKE A HOUSE ON FIRE THOUGH YOUR ANGELIC SON WOULD, IM SURE GOT ON HER TITS
“However, call it semantics, "silly" is not what I would call children [and their parents] having fun.”
NO YOUR WOULD BE PULLING THE WINGS OFF FLIES I SUSPECT
Which reminds me: You haven't mentioned Nu for a while. Has she fallen off the perch?
NO NU IS DOING MIGHTY FINE, I SPOKE TO HER ON SUNDAY !
What time you waste
Ps
Delete“PS If you can't get your brain round Carl Rogers you are doomed.”
ROGERS MAIN THRUSTS ARE EASY TO GET BUT I DARE ANYONE TO UNDERSTAND HIS “Nineteen Propositions” from the first sitting
ReplyDelete
Lol ok let’s review! In angry capital letters!
DeleteNot angry …just differentiating the prose
DeleteGood Lord! I thought this an innocuous post that nobody could find fault with. I guess I'm just not on the same wavelength as U,thank God.
DeleteLinda, have you noticed that after a certain one comments here more jump on the bandwagon under different names , forgetting that it’s quite simple to recognise them, through similarities in the construction of their sentences . It a big big effort for one person , which is a sadness in itself
DeleteLee
You are not the first to nice this, several readers have emailed me with similar comments. I dead to delete the “ follow up reply “
DeleteTend
DeleteTime seems to pass so quickly with young children growing up, and how beautiful the girls have become! I've also found small children just love a bit of silly fun and I like that scene you describe. Also the egg blowing and the time with the animals. Very precious memories.
ReplyDeleteI love this story.
ReplyDeleteYou should be asleep !!!!
DeleteMy Mum always hated silliness and yet she loved my Dad who could be the silliest ever. He never really stopped his messing around and I loved joining in, we even had silly moments and much laughter when he was in the hospice.
ReplyDeleteThe girls grew up beautifully and far too quickly didn't they, where have those years gone!!
Most children adore toilet humour don't they ? It's fun to be silly .... life hasn't always got to be educational. Our Dad loved a bit of silliness. I also love it when kids are allowed to jump and splash in puddles and get dirty, but there's often one who is not allowed to ..... I always feel sorry for them as jumping in puddles is such good fun, even at my age !!! XXXX
ReplyDeleteI recall my mother being dead serious, but my father could be silly. My father's mother (English), and her mother (Welsh) could be very silly, very fun.
ReplyDeleteHow lovely that you had those fun times with Jason's daughters and how quickly childhood passes by. Blink and you might miss it as the top picture shows.
ReplyDeleteThey were very special times
DeleteYou could hire yourself out as the world's daftest baby sitter - I agree kids love daft behaviour from adults
ReplyDeleteI think my nerves couldn’t take it now
DeleteJust this morning I watched an Instagram video about a guy who was lactose intolerant and he ate a whole cheese pizza. The results were quite interesting culminating in him $hi!!ing his pants. Watched it several times and shared with my husband and we laughed our asses off. I said " can't believe we are in our 60s and 70s and laugh like 5 year olds like this. I'm glad we can still laugh at silly things.
ReplyDeleteYou are my kinda people linda
Delete