GRANDPARENTING BLISS
One afternoon while rocking Corley, Cheryl looked down at her and said softly: “It IS fun having a baby — one that you can just hand back over!”

BABY INDIGNATION
I have identified what I call a “fake” cry by Corley — if you can imagine, a little cough-like prelude to a cry — I don’t think it is a much a real “cry” as such, as it is a voicing of her displeasure, and at four weeks that is the only way she can do it. Last Saturday, after a visit by my sister, Corley was ready to see her mama again. We passed her from person to person, but no one would do — it was time for her mom. So we gave Corley to Lib, who, rather than immediately beginning to feed her, stood her up on her lap in front of her and began talking to her. Corley started to protest with her little “huh … huh” cough-cry, but I said, “That’s fake!” And everyone began to laugh at her. Corley immediately stopped her protestations, and started looking around at everyone with a look of puzzlement. I am pretty sure there was also a touch of indignation there too, like: “WHY aren’t you all paying attention to my cry?!” It made us all laugh all the more. Poor child. I don’t think a one of us in this house has the gift of mercy!

DON’T TAKE MY SPOT!
Cheryl made some of her homemade chocolate chip cookies for our neighbors the other day, and of course I got to sample some right out of the oven. I went to get a glass of milk to go with them, and set my glass by the refrigerator as I got the milk.
“Here!” Cheryl snatched up my glass and handed it right back to me.
I laughed. I had set it right where she was going to put the pan of cookies that were coming out of the oven.
“Why do I do that?” I asked preemptively.
“Because there is an empty spot there”, Cheryl reasoned.
“I just thought it was empty there because you keep the kitchen so clean” I answered — you know, hoping to pull a save out of the bag …

“I WANT TO BE ALONE …”
One evening I was reading, and from time to time Cheryl would ask if she could interrupt and talk to me about something. I tried not to come across as though I minded being interrupted, but Cheryl was apologetic anyway. She pointed out one of our differences: “You just want to be left alone to read. I just want to be left alone to talk to you.”

UNFORGIVEN
Cheryl had a hard time one day when we let our kitten, Eponine, out into the yard behind the condo, and she caught and killed a little bird. Paul and Michael thought it was awesome, but Cheryl just thought it was mean, and it changed her view of the cat.
Later on that day, at one point I was watching Eponine napping on Cheryl’s ottoman.
I said to the cat: “Is that relaxing?” And then I said to Cheryl: “She looks relaxed.”
But Cheryl responded: “She looks mean. She looks like a baby bird killer.”

KITCHEN ALLERGIES?
One evening when I couldn’t sleep I had gone to read in the kitchen, and for some reason I had started sneezing. It was like I was allergic to something. The next day, I came back in the kitchen while Cheryl was making a marinade for my Fathers Day steaks. I began to sneeze again.
“Do you think it is the herbs I have drying in the kitchen?” Cheryl asked.
I said, “I don’t know; here I am in the kitchen again, and I am sneezing again.”
“That’s too bad,” Cheryl said.
“Why, ’cause you have to get rid of your herbs?”, I speculated.
“No, you just can’t come in here.”
Me: “Gotta have your priorities.”
Cheryl: “I do!”

MOTHERLY TRIALS
I had to feel sorry for Libby when she came over the other afternoon. I had seen on Facebook that Corley had kept her up all night. When she walked into the room, Cheryl grabbed the baby and she and Michael began making all over her. “Look how cute she is!”, Cheryl exclaimed. “She looks so intelligent,” Michael added. “Look at her facial expressions!”
Libby, dragging into the other room, mumbled: “Her facial expressions last night weren’t that great!”
Poor Libby!

CALL ME MAYBE?
One day Josh put a funny post on Facebook about President Obama, referencing the song “Call Me Maybe.” Cheryl read his post and said she thought it was funny, but she didn’t get the “Call me maybe” reference.
Josh: “I wasn’t aiming at the 50+ mom demographic.”
Libby exclaimed: “JOSH!”
Cheryl: “That was ugly and he knows it!”

SWITCH UP
One night we ordered pizza, and Paul, Libby & Josh went to get it. Josh went inside to get the pizzas, and while Paul & Lib were talking in the car, Libby stopped and said, “That girl at the counter is smiling WAY too big at Josh.” Josh came out to the car and said, “Paul, you need to get the pizza next time!”
So the next time Paul did indeed volunteer to go to pick up the pizza — very willingly I might add! — and he was looking forward to the pretty, outgoing girls at the counter. But he was disgusted when he returned and gave us a report: “Not only were there not any pretty girls there — there weren’t any girls at ALL! In fact, there weren’t even any good looking GUYS in there — they were all UGLY!” Some guys just don’t have any luck!

HOT GOLFERS
One afternoon, Cheryl, Paul & I went to play golf at a small local course. I was grateful that I didn’t seem to suffer any ill-effects from POTS at all, even though the temperature was in the upper 90’s. That heat was evidently responsible for keeping attendance on the course way down, too.
At one point, Cheryl said: “This is a good time to play.”
Paul: “Yeah, no one else is out here.”
Me: “No one else is that stupid!”