An Afternoon With Anna

She walked down the hall from the nurse's office, came around the corner and met me at the sign in window, face flushed and looking un-happy. Smiling weakly she leaned into me and the secretary made a sympathetic face.

“I hope you feel better, honey,” she said.

Then Anna and I walked to my car. I comforted her with Grandma words about warm blankets, favorite television shows and hot chocolate.

Then she remembered her books, the ones Mom had ordered from the book fair. As soon as we’d shed our coats Anna was on the sofa pulling them out of her backpack. Magic Tree House, a diary with a real lock and keys, a book about the Tooth Fairy. Fun stuff for a girl to look at when she doesn’t feel so good. I found out she hadn’t eaten much lunch so I made her some toast and jam. Went down real easy

My plan for the afternoon had been to make some sticky bun monkey bread and Anna was only too happy to help. It’s a very simple recipe using crescent rolls so we went to town. I popped them into the oven and then we went back into the living room to make some diary entries. Anna mentioned her “awesome Grandma” twice with hardly any prompting from me.

In only ten minutes our monkey bread buns were done and we scooped them out of the muffin tins. While we waited for them to cool Anna began reading Diary of A Wimpy Kid to me. Neither of us knew that this book was supposed to be an Easter basket book for her brother, Sam. He came over later and was delighted to see it. Oh, well. Chocolate bunnies will have to do.

Anna is a very good, and eager, reader. It makes my heart glad to know that she wants to enter the exciting and eye-opening worlds presented in books. So she read, I listened. Then we had some buns with Grandpa.

Finally her mother came to pick her and up. I was pleased that she didn’t want to leave but it was time to head home, get some medicine into the girl and settle for the night.

What a pleasant interlude in an ordinary Grandma day. Feel better Anna – you made my afternoon.

Come back soon. Bring the sun with you.