Thirteen Days With Ethan

Okay, I'll admit it.  I was nervous about having Ethan for 13 days.  Christina and Danny were headed out of the country on their honeymoon and I would be in charge.

• What if he refused to get on the school bus in the morning?
• What if he cried because he wanted to talk to his mom before going to bed and was inconsolable? 
• What if I forgot what time the school bus dropped him off and I wasn't there?
• What if he had a seizure, asthma attack, or severe allergic reaction?
• What if he woke up in the middle of the night, wandered outside, and I couldn't find him?  (It isn't as if this hasn't happened before.)

Okay, I was more than nervous, I was terrified.  To some, these fears might seem illogical and absurd, but if you've had any personal experience with Ethan the you can understand why I was afraid.

I figured the weekends would be easy, as I'd be at home with Grandpa and others to help.  On school nights it would be just me and my curious, fearless grandson.

I was pleasantly surprised at how peaceful life was with Ethan.  I'd forgotten that Brenda would be there to get him ready for school, take him to therapy, etc.  Can you tell how much he loves her?

Even the two days he was sick were nice and easy.  We read books, watched Tranformers, drank sodas and laughed a lot.  He was so sweet taking naps on the couch while Gramma played on the computer.

The real challenges came the following weekend at my house.  

We rode bikes with Superman,

 And also with Camden.   

Unfortunately, Ethan is allergic to dogs.  It's impossible to keep him from playing with her so in between we have a lot of baths and ointment to soothe his hives and take meds to avoid having asthma attacks.  Consequently, a lot of time is spent keeping a watchful eye on the dog.  Ethan's answer to his itchiness is to give Camden a bath in the washing machine.  We can't seem to get him to believe the dog cannot go through the wash like his stuffed animals.

One night, after Ethan was asleep, Camden came up the stairs and planted herself on my lap.  I was surprised that Sarabeth had let her out.  Her bed is in the laundry room, where she sleeps.  I let the dog stay with me, as I didn't want her to awaken Ethan.  Some time later, I noticed a soft floral fragrance floating in the air.  I figured Sarabeth must have taken a shower and used scented lotion afterwards.  I assumed she'd be up to get Camden any minute.

Then I heard loud clunking noises.  What in the world had Sarabeth put in the dryer?  It sounded like she'd washed her sneakers and was drying them, but forgot to put towels with them to soften the blows.  Was she trying to wake up her nephew with all of that noise?  I was just standing up to go find her when she appeared at the top of the stairs, sleepy-eyed.

"Did you know Ethan is doing laundry?"  She asked.

Doing laundry indeed!  I found the washer running with the clean clothes that earlier had been folded on the table.  Banging around inside the dryer was an empty bottle of detergent and an empty bottle of fabric softener, along with Ethan's soaking wet pajamas.  Presumably, the previously full bottles had been emptied into the washing machine, except for the puddles on the floor and the streams running down the machines.  Ethan wasn't in there and thankfully the dog wasn't inside the washing machine either.

I rushed to the bathroom and found toothpaste smeared across the counter, in the sink, and on the floor.  An empty canister of hair mousse lay next to a giant mound of white fluff. There stood Ethan, naked and brushing his teeth. I was shocked.  How could I have forgotten to brush his teeth before putting him to bed?  I was kind of surprised that he didn't sign, "Silly Gramma" to me.

What did I expect?