Emolyn anecdotes

Emolyn is blossoming like crazy. And like a vibrant bloom that quickly fades after a few days, the details of her life story from my vantage are beginning to fade. Every time I see her she has entered a new phase that if I don't write it down, it is forgotten and fades from my memory. I have so many snapshots in my mind that need to be recorded for posterity. Ok, maybe just for me. So, occasionally I will do just that. I will tell a little Emolyn anecdote through the eyes of her Mimi. And who is this Mimi you speak of? That would be me. Emolyn calls me MIMI!

Shawn, Nicole & Emolyn came over Friday night for dinner. Have I told you that she literally lights up the room when she sees us? She loves us. Anyway, she calls Randy PopPop and it's cute as all heck. But she's unable to, nor has she tried to come up with any form of Grammy. So I just casually said "Emolyn, can you say Mimi?" And she proceeded to not only say "MIMI!", but she said it with the biggest grin I've ever seen! She was actually quite tickled with not only saying it, but the reaction she got. We were all so delighted at how sweetly she said Mimi. I thus became Mimi at that moment and well, it's like I am truly her Mimi now. So I hearby proclaim that Randy & I are officially Mimi & PopPop!

On a side note, the following night I was sharing with my friend Dennis about my Dad knowing me and saying "well Linda!", and my friend quickly said "it's like when your grandchild recognizes you and calls you by name". I couldn't believe he had said that because he was right. And he had no idea that Emolyn had just called me Mimi the night before. The two were very similar. Both recognizing me for who I am and feeling such a deep satisfaction that I was addressed by my Dad and now my granddaughter as someone special in their lives. One was 83, the other 19 months old. Both similar reactions.

Back to Emolyn's latest anecdote. After we ate dinner together, Nicole, Emolyn & I went to my little thrift store. We put Emolyn in her stroller and she immediately noticed all the baby dolls in the toy section. She would point to one and I would hand it to her. She would look at it carefully and set it aside. She continued to do this to several other baby dolls till her stroller was piled high. Then I happened to unearth a particularly cute doll, handed it to her and you would swear the heavens parted and she had found her long lost soul mate. Motherly instincts poured out from every fiber of her being. She proceeded to cuddle and kiss and rock her new baby in her arms. Oh, but not before she flung all the less adorable babies from her stroller. Seriously, she wanted them gone, out of sight. Cracked me up. We also found the perfect baby bottle too. She would take off the lid, feed the baby, put the lid back on, pat the baby, take off the lid, feed baby, lid back on, and so on. I could not take my eyes off her the whole night. She was in her own little world.

I know what you're thinking. Oooh. Ick. A thrift store baby doll? I know, but you need to know that I am so NOT a germ freak. I was fine. Her Mommy was fine. And once we got home I cleaned her up as best I could. Along with the baby bottle.


Em, baby and bottle... they have been inseparable ever since.