They cheered up considerably, however, when they realized the TV room contained a motorized recliner, something Grandma sorely needed in her last
days. They were delighted that, at the push of a button, the chair would go slo-o-owly up and forward; another button, it would go slo-o-owly back down. They took turns. They were amused for far longer than the 15 minutes or so normal children would enjoy such a contraption.An hour. They played in it for an hour. All the while watching close-ups of snow-covered cars and fallen trees; and listening to bundled-up weather correspondents squinting into the camera and talking about "Snowmageddon"....
And the next morning? As soon as I came downstairs, Rachel came running over to me. "Mommy!" she begged. "Can we play in the electric chair?"
Just one more thing to explain to those nice people at Child Protective Services...
So sorry to hear about your mother. That's a hard one.
ReplyDeleteAnd snowmaggedon was underwhelming for us, perhaps you had more at home. We had a scant 5". But more is coming, tell the children to have hope!
I'm sorry about your mother, SC. But that electric chair thing gives me some sorely-needed ideas...
ReplyDeleteGlad you are back, but so sorry to hear of your loss! Hope you are doing well.
ReplyDeleteOh Suburban Correspondent, I am so sorry. I'm the anonymous poster who harangued you about not posting. I really only meant to tease. I am so sorry about your mother, and about the fact that you had to deal with all that losing a mother entails while at the same time wrestling with the snow this week. Please accept my apologies and prayers for you, your mother and your family. I know this is a difficult time for you and I salute you for finding the humor in a difficult situation.
ReplyDeleteSorry bout your Mom - we had one of those chairs in my Mom's lasts days too. Must be a chair conspiracy thing.
ReplyDeleteNo harm done, Anonymous! And I did sort of enjoy being missed...
ReplyDeleteYou were definitely missed. I am so sorry for your loss.
ReplyDeleteCan I play in the chair?
I'm sorry--so much to deal with lately for you. No matter the circumstances, these things are always difficult. Welcome back, though!
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry for your loss. I'm sorry also for your kids having to miss the tremendous storm. Very glad to have you back!
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry to hear about your mom. Prayers coming your way.
ReplyDeleteThat Rachel is a hoot!
Sorry about your mom! I hope she had a wonderful life. Sending prayers.
ReplyDeleteLosing people you love is really hard. I've had more than my fair share the past few months. Very sorry about your mother. Time really does help and so does trying to keep things "normal". (Please let me know if you a) figure out just what that is and b) actually achieve it.) We are up to our booties in snow here in Maryland and they are calling for another 12-18 inches. Maybe your kids will get to frolic in round two.
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear about your loss! You are a real trooper! Don't forget to look after yourself.
ReplyDeleteOur condolences. It is really very nice to see you back though.
ReplyDeleteSorry about your mom, honey. I hope there are motorized chairs in heaven.
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry for your loss. Welcome back.
ReplyDeleteI am very, very sorry to hear about your mother.
ReplyDeleteMy husband's grandfather has a chair like that. My children have eyed it up, but they have yet to be allowed near it. Grandpa's always in it, you see.
Losing your mother is hard--even if it is something you've seen coming. I hope you're doing okay.
ReplyDeleteDidn't I hear something about ANOTHER snowstorm headed your way?
Oh, honey, I'm so sorry! Give your kids an extra hug for me.
ReplyDeleteI actually have a chair like that too: I inherited it from my grandmother, and my then-young kids played on it when it arrived like yours did. Gram was 96; it feels a lot more okay to let them go at that age!
I'm so sorry to hear about the loss of your mother! I know this must be a difficult time for you and your family right now. Please accept my condolences.
ReplyDeleteOn a lighter note... I actually am a CPS worker. Let me just say, if this were all I had to worry about with my clients then I'd be one happy worker!
Thanks for the smiles!
Julie in PA
I'm glad you weren't home with the power out!
ReplyDeleteBut even an electric chair doesn't make up for losing your mother and going through everything you've had to go through in the past few weeks.
{{HUGS}}
I am so sorry about your mother. I came across this in a Google Alert for CPS and so enjoyed the laugh. I'm a parental rights advocate so it's nice to every once in a while receive a blog post that actually makes me laugh. I'd love to use your story on my blog to give my readers a laugh too. So much of our lives are filled with fear and I'm sure they'd really appreciate the irony. Since it is a CPS reform blog and that's not what you're about, I always ask permission first. You can let me know by emailing me at bwalexander3@yahoo.com. No problem if you say no, so long as you're nice, lol. Great post and again, I am so very sorry for your loss. You have my deepest, heartfelt sympathies.
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry to hear about your mom. But I'm glad to see that you haven't lost your sense of humor!
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry to hear about your mom...My prayers are with you.
ReplyDeleteKari B
I'm sorry about your mom.
ReplyDeleteMy sons would have loved the electric chair too. Anything that can move, right?
That is great. Not the funeral part but the cute kids part.
ReplyDeleteNow instead of telling someone to go play on the freeway, you can go tell them, to go play in the electric chair.
I'm sorry to hear about your mom. I was worried it was something bad with the time between posts. I was hoping it was just your internet being out from the snowstorm (no internet for that long with that many kids in the house? That would have been pretty bad too.)
ReplyDeleteOh my, to lose a parent is so profound, whether expected or not. Blessings to you. MIME
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry. The hits just keep on coming, huh? I hope you're doing o.k. Much love to you and yours. {{{{xoxoxoxoxoxo}}}
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear about your mother.
ReplyDeleteMy mom died in 2005. We were not close, but it wasn't easy regardless.
ReplyDeleteI got cards from people and my husband's aunt summed it up best.
Losing a parent SUCKS!
I'm sorry your mom died. Death sucks and grief sucks more. And yes, that's my official stance. God bless and I pray you are doing ok.
ReplyDeleteSo sorry to hear about your mother. Thinking of you.
ReplyDeleteOh no, your mother died? Oh, I'm so sorry. Your family will be in our prayers.
ReplyDeleteMaybe a barcalounger will ease the pain. Or maybe with a close death you're going to need the big guns--a Craftmatic Adjustable bed.
I'm sorry to hear about your mom.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a kid a friend of mine had one of those motorized chairs in her house that went up and down the stairs on a track. You'd have thought it was Six Flags the way we begged to "have a ride" on the chair that went approximately 0.02 mph.
Oh dear, as I scrolled down I happened to notice you got a comment from a CPS worker, how scary! But truly, she would be glad to visit people who only have "electric chairs" and wired children. I'm so sorry about your mom. I can't even stand to think about when it will be my turn to say goodbye for now. Lots of hugs and prayers heading your way and I hope you have some great memories to relive with all your family.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry about your mom.
ReplyDeleteYour story about the chair reminds me of the electric hospital bed that my mother rode out her days in - the children LOVED to push its buttons.