Family Legacies

It's been such a great time this summer watching Jonathan fall in love with the cottage on Lake Michigan. Just like I did, he eagerly counts down the fire drives to number 14, then tells me to honk when the "Sound Horn" signs come into view. As we drive up the final hill, he usually says "Yay!" as the cottage and the lake appear. He's discovering some of the same books that I read - and even some that my dad read when he was a little boy! And he's absolutely fearless in the lake - if the waves aren't crowned with whitecaps, he's disappointed.

Now that Grandma and Grandpa, as well as Auntie Iz and Uncle Jim, have packed up and headed home, we're working on dismantling some more recent legacies. Jonathan was in a fair way to be spoiled rotten and I think spent most of Monday sitting on the naughty chair. Alex is used to being held every second of the day and wails if we walk into another room. It's been almost a week and things are getting closer to normal.

Some signs of the visit persist, though. From Uncle Jim, we got "Checkin' out the ladies!" This morning, Jonathan snuggled onto my lap. He asked "Mommy, are you a lady?" I told him yes, I was, and he gave me a closer hug, saying proudly "And I'm a MAN!" Jonathan also thinks that all the Beatles songs are Jim's exclusive property. He asks us to sing "Yellow Submarine" but then cuts us off, saying "That's Uncle Jim's!"

I think there must have been some times while Grandma and Grandpa had a difficult time understanding Jonathan. Today he was asking me to play him a clip on YouTube, but I had no idea what he was talking about. He wanted to see "the one with the cherreets," I think it was. I said "Cherreets? What do you want to see?" And he did a perfect mimicry of the "I get it " moment - "Ohhhh, CHERreets!" It didn't help.