Glitter in My Lint Filter

Okay - I've spent the past five loooooooooooong days at Disney World (pictures to come, and I'm here to say, size isn't everything.  Disneyland is so much nicer).  I'm just looking at one of our presents to Stevie, thinking about how Bill and Andi are gearing up to move into their own place and how, all too soon, I will no longer have glitter in my lint filter.  :-( 

I remember my own mother's technique with me (my sisters may have different memories), and I have tried, with Stevie (my granddaughter but still), to do the exact opposite.  The first time I pulled glitter-encrusted lint out of the dryer filter, I thought, like my mother,  "Gaa!  What kind of damage did this do to my dryer!  And what a drain on the power bill!  The fire potential!  That eight year old has GOT to keep this out of the regular laundry!"  What I SAID was "Cool!  Glitter in the lint filter!  This must be my lucky day!"

I'm not always successful;  in part, I think, because I was never a mom.  I recently said something which, in retrospect, I realize was pretty mean to Stevie about her reading level - and it broke my heart when I stopped (and Ted made me stop) to think about it.  She is who she is, and who she is is someone I love with all my heart.  I'm not going to try to "help" her by hurting her feelings and making her feel bad in any way about herself.

So, Stevie -- before you and your mom and dad find your own place, you and I (and your momma) will be making a huge mess of the kitchen with Christmas cookies -- some for Mrs. Cochoran and Mrs. Rasmussen, too.  And maybe we'll mess up the bathroom with bubble bath and funky-colored soap and candles.  And just for good measure, let's wrap up some presents and leave bits of tape and paper on the dining room floor.  But most of all, let's leave a big pile of glitter in the lint filter.

I'll keep that last blob of glitter/lint for the rest of my life.