THE MANGER....

If you have been around me since I became a Mumsie

you know I put much thought and effort

to the memories for my grandgirls.

I want, when they are old and say," Mumsie's Cottage"

they are flooded with stories of me and all the

things I have shown and taught them.

I want it all to be sealed to their hearts and minds.

POOKIE

I have called them this way before it became a popular word.

Jilly said, "My Mumsie been calling us that all the time"

I do believe I am the one that made that word up 

so I am hoping Wikipedia gives me the credit.

POOKIE- A WORD MADE UP BY A LADY

FROM GOLDEN MEADOW AS A TERM OF ENDEARMENT

TO THOSE SHE LOVES.

There, giving myself credit!

.... LOUISE....

I  have a habit of when I do call your real name,

 I say Louise after as though its your middle name.

So much so that I even called the neighbors dog

"Stella Louise"

and Jesi said "she's been saying Louise since I was kid."

I say it so much that just the other day i called

"Jemma Louise"

and someone said, "oh what a pretty middle name"

her middle name is not Louise... its Kate.

When we go shopping, I always make them think of their purchases

by saying:

" WE CAN MAKE THAT..."

I must say it more than I know because

when I take Mia (Jia) and the grandgirls shopping

they count how many times I say it.

However, they do think hard about their purchases now.

The grandgirls know of my love for a good garage sale 

or thrift store second  only to an antique store.

They are very aware of how much I like old things

and if you see a pile of junk on the side of the road,

you should stop and look.

Which brings me to the reason for this post in the first place.

ONE DAY JILLY AND JEMMA SAY THEY HAVE TO 

FACETIME ME...

I DID SO AND THEY WERE SO VERY EXCITED

"MUMSIE. WE FOUND SOMETHING ON THE SIDE OF

THE ROAD AND WE CARRIED IT ALL THE WAY

TO OUR HOUSE FOR YOU!"

THEY CARRIED A FULL SIZE EARLY 80'S 

CONSOLE TV ALL THE WAY FROM THE 

FRONT OF THEIR STREET TO THEIR HOUSE FAR IN THE BACK.

OH MY HEART!

HOW AM I GOING TO BREAK IT GENTLY TO THEM

THAT I HAVE NO NEED FOR THAT...

"AHH, GIRLS, THANK YOU SO MUCH BUT I REALLY  

DON'T HAVE ROOM FOR IT"

I COULD SEE THEY WERE DISAPPOINTED...

"YOU CAN MAKE AN AQUARIUM OUT OF IT"

THEN I REMEMBERED LONG AGO THAT I SPOKE

OF SOMEONE WHO HAD AN OLD TV LIKE THIS

AND THEY HAD MADE AN AQUARIUM WITH IT.

I FELT TERRIBLE ABOUT IT, BUT THEY GOT OVER IT 

FASTER THAN I DID.

I THOUGHT ABOUT IT FOR DAYS AFTER,

THEIR EXCITEMENT TO SURPRISE ME

WITH SOMETHING THEY THOUGHT WOULD BE

PERFECT FOR THE COTTAGE.

I worried that never again would they haul anything

home again for me.

How wrong I was...

Right after Christmas, I get a FaceTime call from Jilly.

She, MIa (Jia) and Aubrey were playing in the neighborhood

and they found something in the trash of someone

that they just had to get for me.

Jilly pans to this beautiful little manger,

equipped with all the pieces that are glued in.

She points out all the special pieces and how 

there is absolutely nothing wrong with it.

I am ecstatic.... really I am so very excited

not only because it is precious,

 but because there three little girls on an adventure

saw this in someones yard and just knew

they had to have it for me.

BE STILL MY HEART.

So now, whenever you come to my Cottage 

there will be a manger out year round.

It will stay in the library until someone else 

is in charge of my things.

The manger will become another story in the 

dozens I already have for the Cottage.

It will stand proudly as a reminder to me

that I am instilling things in them that will last a lifetime.

I also hope each time Jilly and Jemma see it they are reminded:

"REMBEMBER THAT TIME WE CARRIED 

AN OLD CONSOLE TV ALL THE WAY HOME

FOR MUMSIE?"