Maggie and her older brother, Nathan, stayed with me a number of times when their parents were on business trips. I always looked forward to these times....so I have quite a few stories to tell.
I remember, when Maggie was three and Nathan was five they came for about ten days. At this time I shared a condo with my friend Rae. She was on vacation in Mexico...so I was able to have Maggie sleep in Rae's room and Nathan was in the guest bedroom. Perfect! Rae's room was full of teddy bears and unicorns, bringing out a giggle from Maggie. In her three year old voice she would say, "I wuv way's woom." (She did not have the 'L' and 'R' sounds down yet.) Yes, Maggie wovved Way's woom. She would tell strangers at the store this. "It had unicowns and teddy beahs."
Everything was going great...and then Rae's Mexico trip was over. I told Maggie that she would have to share my room since Rae was back. Much to my delight Maggie was fine with that. That first night with me we spent talking and laughing when we went to bed. There was a knock on the door. There stood Nathan. He wanted to sleep in my room too...it wasn't fair. So, what do I do? There was no room for all three of us, but Nathan had a point. He heard us laughing and wanted to be part of that.
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| Maggie and Nathan |
Rae to the rescue! "I can sleep on the couch for a couple of nights, or go to Kevin's (her son who lived around the block)." That way Maggie would have 'Way's woom' back and everyone would be happy. I told Maggie she could go back to Rae's Room, expecting squeals of delight...but no. She liked being in my room with me. No amount of talking convinced her that she would be happy back with the teddy bears and unicorns.
"I HATE Way's woom!"
Time for tough love....after much discussion and no convincing I put Maggie in Rae's bed and closed the door. Nathan was in the guest room...I doubt he was sleeping because Maggie was quite vocal expressing her dislike for Rae's room. "I HAAATTTEEE WAAAAY'S WOOOOM!!!!" I lost count on how many times she cried out these words.
I went downstairs. Rae was sitting on the couch. "Just let her yell, Jackie. She will get tired soon and fall asleep. Kevin tried that a few times, but after he knew I was not going to give in, he fell asleep and then there were no more bed time battles." I knew she was right...but she did not know how strong willed Maggie was. After an hour....I swear it seemed like an hour, but was probably not...Rae informed me that Kevin never carried on this long...but we had to be strong...Maggie would give in soon.
"I HATE WAY'S WOOM!!!" I knew it was not going to end. Rae was ready to give up too. But suddenly...Flashing lights and sirens right behind the condo. My first fear was someone had reported a child in distress and called the police. Peeking out the back window I saw a firetruck. Flames were shooting out of the dumpster on the other side of the alley. I had a few seconds of relief and then ran upstairs to check on Nathan and Maggie knowing that the sirens might frighten them.
Nathan was sleeping, but Maggie rushed into my arms hugging me tightly around the neck. We could see the commotion from my bedroom window and I assured her that the fire fighters had put out a small fire in that dumpster and that everyone was safe. I took her into Rae's room where she could not see the alley, and told her it was time for sleep. She slipped in to Rae's bed and I sat with her for some time.
"I wuv Way's woom." she said quietly...closed her eyes...and was asleep. Thank you, fire fighters, I whispered as I closed the door.
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| Maggie with Annie and Sandy that her Nana (Maxine) made for her |
Well, it looks like that story was longer than expected...so I will just have to write more on another day. I always loved having Nathan and Maggie come visit. Now they are adults...both graduated from Law School. Nathan is married to Leeanne and they have two beautiful children, Abby and Jackson. Maggie is engaged to Mike and will be getting married this summer. Life is good.
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| Maggie, all grown up! |
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| Mike and Maggie...engaged |
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