Whirlwind

November 13, 2019

ADD doesn’t begin to describe granddaughter Izzi. Most any time she isn’t at school, work, or home, our doorbell is apt to ring twice just before a whirlwind of smiles, laughter, and conversation blows in, sweeps through the house, and out the door again. Boredom is impossible with Izzi around! Tonight around 8:30, the whirlwind struck. Needing a couple eggs to make cookies for a friend’s birthday tomorrow, it turned out she hadn’t yet read the book which assignment was due tomorrow. It didn’t take too much to convince her to let Linda bake the cookies so she could study. 

This is the same Izzi who two years ago would stand on her head and do cartwheels while Linda was helping her with her online homework, which merely required reading a paragraph and checking the multiple-choice questions. If it weren’t going fast enough, Izzi would reach over Linda’s shoulder and speed-check boxes at random. 

Nine o’clock comes around, and Izzi’s sitting at our kitchen table, playing an audio version of the book at double speed, half speed, fast forward...anything except normal speed, all the while fiddling with whatever is in reach on our table. Linda is baking cookies, and we are both laughing at the antics playing out before us as Izzi flits from the table to sitting on the counter to careening around the kitchen while expounding on how she hates to read so maybe instead of teaching at a public school she could teach at an Amish school where she didn’t need any further education. That lasted until we told her about having to wear a bonnet, go without deodorant, or shave her legs. She dreams of being an elementary school teacher, a calling at which she would excel given how she attracts children like a magnet. Soon, she was telling us how boring it was sitting in the woods with a friend who was deer hunting. It lasted till her phone rang.

Soon, she was out the door again and on her way home. Linda and I have often talked about the blessing of having our grandchildren within walking distance. Tonight, that blessing came in the form of our “Busy Izzi,” whom we love and for whom we are thankful.