FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM JANUARY 19, 2017 • BUZZ • THE QUEENS COURIER 63 My babysitting holiday weekend vschneps@ gmail.com Dynamic $1500 off Lumineers $500 off Invisalign DENTAL WORK CALL FOR FREE CONSULTATION THE INVISIBLE WAY TO SOME EXCLUSIONS APPLY STRAIGHTEN TEETH Third Generation Dentist ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� Although my daughter Elizabeth and five-year-old Addy and seven-yearold Jonah live with me, I'm rarely "the babysitter," but this weekend I was. To my delight, I was doing an overnight with them as their mother took a break, but who said babysitting is easy? Most nights I'm out at events, and one night when I was leaving, Addy asked me, "Grandma, why do you go out so much?" Her older brother Jonah immediately answered, "Addy, Grandma provides for us and that's her work!" "Oh," she replied. So for them to have me home was a treat for them and me!Th e passing of the “baton” to me started in the aft ernoon. Elizabeth suggested I buy marshmallows, Hershey chocolate bars and graham crackers, all the ingredients to make s'mores. I have a fi replace, and I fought with the heavy metal lever that opens the fl ue. I've made the mistake in the past of not having it fully open and the house fi lled with smoke. It took days to get the smell out of the house. So, I learned from my mistake and stuck my head into the fi replace to look up the smokestack to see the sky. Th at's my assurance that I opened it enough to avert another "disaster." I had bought fi rewood last year and this year bought starter cubes to help me get the fi re started. Th e kids crumbled newspaper – not mine – and we placed it around the logs. Th en I lit a few matches to start the paper going in each corner and within minutes we had a beautiful fi re. We had long sticks that we placed marshmallows on and began our marshmallow roasting. I like mine charcoal-crunchy on the outside and soft inside. Th e kids loved making them more eating them was another matter. I ended up eating more than the two of them! Th en we put the chocolate bars into the microwave for 30 seconds and they were melted enough to be spreadable on the graham crackers, with a marshmallow cooked soft enough to be squeezed into a sandwich ready for eating. But the kids preferred making the treats and didn't even eat one! Th ey loved making them more than eating them, and Jonah said to me as we sat together on the bench in front of the fi replace, "Grandma, this is the happiest day of my life!" My heart melted. Aft er unsticking ourselves from the mushy marshmallows, it was time for a real dinner of chicken soup with noodles and matzah balls, their favorite foods. Th en the drama began. Addy and Jonah brought her blankets, pillows and stuff ed animals to my room, expecting to have them sleep in my room. But as she started to creep under the covers, the tears started falling and she cried, “I miss my mom. Can I call my mommy?” she asked in her heavy-hearted voice. So we dialed her up and spoke. Elizabeth reassured her that she would be home the next day and in a fi rm voice told her she could sleep in her bed if she preferred, but Addy, crying harder, said, “Mommy, I can't fi nd your love note and Daddy's silk handkerchief!" so upstairs we went and searched for them. Meanwhile, Jonah woke up and decided to sleep in his mom’s bed rather than at the foot of my bed on the fl oor. So upstairs we went, too. He too, whimpering sadly, called his mom to tell her how much he missed her! My heart swelled too, making me tearful. I felt like I was in a scene in one of their favorite teenage TV shows – up, down, up we went until around midnight, with Addy holding my iPhone watching YouTube videos until she fi nally fell asleep. I only worried they’d be zombies the next day when they had 11 a.m. dates with their cousins. At about 6 a.m., I heard Addy and Jonah talking about what they were going to eat for breakfast. Th ey were all chipper but I was exhausted, desperate for a few more hours of sleep. By about 8 a.m., I knew I was fi nished and needed to make them breakfast before my favorite Sunday morning show began at 9 a.m. Th ey wanted to eat silver dollar-size pancakes. Addy asked for seven and Jonah wanted four. Th ey gobbled them up and disappeared into another room to watch their favorite TV show. Peace and joy reigned as I drove them to my daughter Samantha's house 10 minutes away. Th ey ran up her walkway with smiles on their faces as they were greeted by their cousins and I had one on mine, too. I had made my delivery and fi nished my babysitting journey! I survived and they did too! A few hours later, my son Josh and his wife Tracey with their little ones, Hudson and Sloane, paid a visit and all 12 of us had dinner together. Four-year-old Hudson knew he had no school tomorrow and I loved how Hudson explained to me why we celebrate Martin Luther King Day: "Because, Grandma, he wanted to make everyone equal!" Out of the mouth of babes, the simple but profound truth. Blake, 10, and Morgan, 7, slept over Sunday night, but my daughter Elizabeth had returned and was there with me – no one has cried yet. Hooray! It was a perfect ending to a holiday weekend. Victoria’s Secrets Victoria SCHNEPS-YUNIS tweet me @vschneps Josh with his Sloane and Hudson in my endless pool. Addy loved toasting the marshmallows more than eating them. Jonah, Addy and I were mesmerized by the fi re!
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