When we were kids, we would stay over Grammy's house on Valley Ave. Each time seemed to blur together into one big memory. It was pretty routine, but we always had a good time...when we weren't caught in the kitchen after dinner. Our routine...Eating dinner on what I once thought to be a large round dinner table. Although, when I envision the kitchen, it's as though that table part of the it. For anyone that had dinner hosted by Grammy, you can attest to her strict and somewhat puzzling etiquette. She would pour us a tall cold glass (Or Dollar Store cup) of milk, place it down, but heaven forbid you fill up on milk before you're done eating. So at least the rule for me was, eat all of your supper before you drink your milk. Sorry Grammy, that's one thing I can't do 'till this day, I need my milk WITH my dinner. So, after dinner, Grammy would lay down sheets on the living room floor, and instruct us to pick out a movie from her "extensive" collection (VHS). (Remember that old tape rewinder?) So once we've watched The Lion King, or the other 100 Disney movies 100 times, there were our real favorites...Forrest Gump & Jurassic Park. I learned a lot of life lessons from those two. (Change your socks 3 times a day & don't make fun of dinosaurs) Then there was the Vicks. When we were sick, Grammy had the Vicks Vapor Rub ready to go. That stuff was way too intense. Now, sometime in the middle of our movie, or "lullaby" I would try sneaking into the kitchen for a late snack. I was quickly reminded of kitchen rule #2...NO SNACKS AFTER DINNER! Now, I don't know if it was my persistence, but eventually Grammy would give me a bowl of cereal. From that point on, cereal was an anytime, no rules snack! I never remember getting tired or falling asleep there, just that everything was calm, structured and happened exactly as it should. Then in the blink of an eye, we would wake up full of energy headed towards the "play room" or the backyard. The playroom was the carpeted basement like first-ish floor of the the house. (It's a Roxborough thing)It was always nice and cool down there, and had lots of random toys collected throughout the years. Really random. Then there was the backyard. I remember the spinning Octopus thing. That's about it. My favorite was running in & out of the "Powder Room" to fill up those plastic squirt guns, and chasing each other around outside. Life was simple, and fun was free...or a dollar! (Grammy highly endorsed the $ store) There was usually other family living or visiting Valley Ave as we all used to live in Philly, but even when it was just Me, Shanny, Deirdra, we always had fun. (Special shout out to Leah & her horsey toys) After running around all day, if we were to stay another night, we would find ourselves repeating the same routine. Routines nowadays seem more like choirs or tasks, but our "routine" then was the little bit of structure that kept us from being little heathens. (My words) It never got old, but was always an adventure. These visits were at critical points in our lives. I'm sure it wasn't always easy to watch a handful of Monaghan's and deal with asthma at the same time. But Grammy always made us grandchildren feel special. That's what makes me sad, that I never got to articulate my deep gratitude toward her. I can't imagine the insight and fortitude I would have gained if I spent just a little more routine time with Grammy. P.S. Thank you Grammy for the grammar lessons, picking me up from school, showing me how to be froogle, encouraging me to do the 24 competitions at school. Listening to KYW, news radio, 1060...Countless peppermints & cereal. COUNTLESS time outs or holding me on the couch until I calmed down...less side affects than ritalin. Thank you for not spoiling us! Thank you for being rough around the edges, don't mess with Grammy kind of Grammy. Thank you for having 7 children who all had 7 children who all had 7 children. Thanks for never making me feel like a bad person, but showing me how any person can do good things. Thanks for all the heads up pennies! Thanks for putting in a good word with Saint Peter for me. XOXO