Fond Memories

Tonight I unknowingly recreated a scene from my childhood... Alexa received a kids' cookbook, and the Sloppy Joe recipe immediately attracted her attention, so I decided that would be the perfect dinner option.  While I was making dinner, Alexa was in the playroom working on her numbers, so I had my laptop open and was listening to the KMOX radio stream of the Cardinals game on mlb.com (the televised game was blacked out here in Arizona).  As Alexa and I sat down to dinner, I realized that this was a scene from my Grandma Niehoff's house when I was a kid - - I distinctly remember having Sloppy Joe's as the radio buzzed with the Cardinals game in the background.  It's funny how sometimes the most nondescript events are the ones that are the most memorable.

I recounted the memory for Alexa, and she was instantly intrigued, wanted to hear more stories about my Grandma Niehoff.  I think she couldn't get over the fact that Papa Niehoff had a mommy too.  I began telling her about memories of my Grandma Niehoff, recounting lawn mower rides, meatball sandwiches from Ruma's Deli, "garbage" (eggs, hash browns and sausage) for breakfast....  Alexa asked when she was going to meet Grandma Niehoff, and I told her that she had died and was in heaven with my other grandma and grandpas.  "Wait - - she's in heaven?  With Granty?  I'm so happy that he knows other people in heaven.  Did your Grandma's lawn mower go with her to heaven?  Granty would probably like riding it."  I love that Alexa is still a protective big sister, continuing to watch out for her little brother even after he's gone.

After seeing her interest in my childhood stories, I think I'm going to make a more conscious effort to recount these for her...she was completely enthralled.  I'll be channeling my inner Grandma Niehoff as I head to the grocery store tomorrow morning to pick up the ingredients to make "garbage" for breakfast.  Let's hope I do the recipe (or lack thereof) justice!  :)

Alexa was shocked to hear Papa Niehoff had a mommy... :)