I am one tired, exhausted, drained, and totally worn-out Meme! 
I just got home, late last night from a trip with two of my ten grandsons, one of them the very most inquisitive, curious, energetic, demanding of all the ten. He and I have a genuine perception of each other. We share a bond that sometimes astounds me how much a little boy can love me with eyes that see nothing but goodness coming from this woman.
He overlooks the times I am exasperated with his antics, his loudness, (He has one volume-loud!), his hysterics and only hears when I say, “It will be okay.” He tells me I am beautiful when I look like someone dragged me down the road over rough ground and I fell into an ugly pond. He helps me from the car, opens doors for me, takes my hand going up stairs and even holds my purse at times.
When it is time to choose beds, I am confident that he and I will sleep in one of the beds. If I had to say one thing about this little man I do not appreciate, it would be his bed manners! He cannot sleep without the television so we leave the apparatus on but muted.
Of course, the changing of the brightness to darkness on and on through the night does not conduce me into my deep REM sleep. We started out fine on our respective pillows and our separate sides of the mattress.
However, about 30 minutes into our slumber time I felt a little arm wrap around some part of my body; it was usually on my head or a choke hold around my neck. After he threw a leg over my hip, I hovered closely to the carpeted floor between the bed and wall.
As I hung on to prevent falling, he sat straight up in the bed and just looked around the darkened room. I realized he was asleep as he gazed into the nighttime. I gently push him back and he is still sleeping. About this time I took a bathroom visit and when I came back to bed, there was no room for me. He had taken the bed in a cross-wise posture.
Of course, the good Meme refused to wake him, so I grabbed my pillow and lay my head at the foot of the bed and somewhat hung off and let him have his unencumbered sleep.
I am an early riser, but I knew if I rolled to the floor in order to leave my “hang on” bed nest, I would wake him. I just dangled and dozed for longer than I usually do. As he woke and began looking for me, I was at the foot of the bed; we headed out to the balcony and discussed our plans for the day as our other people rise.
Yes, I am totally exhausted today, but would I change anything of the past two days? Absolutely NOT!
What is the price we are willing to pay for the love of a little boy who believes, at eight years old, his Meme is the “cream of the crop of Memes.” I can sleep when, heaven forbid, he decides he is too old to sleep in bed with me.
Eli’s favorite cake is my Cocoa Cola Cake. Here is the recipe…
2 cups SR flour, 2 sticks butter, 1 cup of coca cola, 2 beaten eggs, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 2 cups sugar, 3 Tablespoons cocoa, ½ cup buttermilk 1 teaspoon soda, and 1 ½ cups miniature marshmallows. Blend the flour and sugar. Bring the coke, butter, and cocoa to a boil and pour over flour mixture and mix well. Add buttermilk, soda, eggs, vanilla, and marshmallows. Mixture will be thin. Pour into a 9 x 13 pan and bake 350* for about an hour. Be sure to frost while hot. Bring ½ cup butter, 6 Tablespoons coke, 3 Tablespoons cocoa, to a boil and pour over a box of powdered sugar. Spread over hot cake.
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Peggy Sims is a Kosciusko resident. She writes a weekly column for The Star-Herald
