. . .

my mom meets her at the car as we pull up. this time, mom carried her into the house, because they were both so excited and there was no time to dig under all the piles of roadtrip-toys-and-books for shoes. emma gives Papaw a big hug as she runs through the house with a destination in mind: the music nook. bongo drums, flutes, kazoos…she takes what’s portable, and makes some noise, knowing she’ll be around long enough to catch up with the piano, the guitar, and the violin later in the trip.

after some music has been made, she spies the packages of play-doh (she knew it would be there. grandma’s awesome like that). play-doh is a Sometimes treat at our house. it’s a mixed blessing; keeps kids occupied for hours, but leaves trails of play-doh crumbs that will be found on the floor for weeks to come, no matter how many times you sweep. but at grandma’s they have a table on the porch JUST FOR PLAY-DOH-ing, and a treasure trove of plastic cutters and play-doh molding devices that mom has collected from various successful yard sale ventures.

within 15 minutes, emma was settled into the zone, comfortably playing, laughing and making herself at home. that’s a big deal to me, knowing that even though we live so many hours apart, emma knows that grandma and grandpa’s house is someplace magic and warm.

. . .

.