my son's name is landon, and my daughter's name is erica. sometimes i call him l.k. or keithers, and most of the time i call her ric, so don't be confused if i switch back and forth.
i heard a little boy who was 17 months old laughing tonight with his daddy, as his daddy stood at the jewelry counter getting his watch sized. "parker's" laugh reminded me of when i would tickle landon and make him laugh.
landon had one of those infectious laughs, and his laugh use to crack me up, i would have tears running down my cheeks and snot running down my nose, because his laugh was so precious to me. ric didn't laugh much when she was little, in fact, it was hard to make her laugh. landon was the only one who could get ric to laugh, most of the time. landon and erica are exactly 14.5 months a part, but who's counting, right? for a long time, raising them was worse than having twins, because they were both babies, but with the age difference, they were on totally different schedules, which meant, there was never a resting time for me. anyway, when we lived in our very first house, they shared a room. he had a twin size bed, and she had a baby bed. she loved to sleep, he did not. seldom ever could i get them down for a nap at the same time, but it never stopped me from trying. one day i was successful getting them to take a nap at the same time! i was so happy, and had so much to do, but i probably laid on my bed and floated into dream land myself. even though, i don't remember exactly what i did during their nap time, i do remember hearing erica laughing uncontrollably in the next room. you can imagine how happy it made me to hear her laugh, knowing that landon was "entertaining" her and making her laugh. i listened outside their door, not anxious to open the door and stop her fun. i remember putting my hand to my heart and having a little proud parent moment. how sweet was it that ric's older brother was entertaining her enough to get her to laugh? i tip-toed away from the door, so that i wouldn't stop their fun, and got busy around the house. i stopped my chores every now and then just to hear their laughter. at one point, i went back to the door and started listening, wishing there was a peephole in the door, so that i could watch this laughing miracle! as i listened i noticed there seemed to be a pattern to their laughter. i heard something hit a hard object, then i would hear her giggle, then she stopped suddenly, only to have the "something" hit a hard object again, she would giggle, then suddenly stop. what could be going on in there? i couldn't think for the life of me what landon had come up with to make his sissy giggle. this laughter had been going on for about an hour, so i finally decided i would open the door and join them in their laughing game. when i opened the door, i first thought the room was on fire, from all the smoke. landon was riding his "horsie", you know, one of the kinds we all had, suspended on springs? i searched for ric, and didn't see her right away from all of the smoke, but she was standing in her baby bed covered in white smoke. all i could see was her huge blue eyes staring at me. when she blinked, she completely disappeared against the white wall behind her. landon had taken the extra large baby powder canister and was slapping his "horsie" on the rear, and when he hit the "horsie's" rear, the baby powder shot out in a stream that would make any firefighter proud! erica would begin to giggle, until the powder hit her right in the face, each time he slapped the "horsie", then her giggling would stop (when she probably went into survival mode, trying not to inhale the powder), but then he would slap the "horsie" again, and the powder shooting out, caused her to giggle out loud once again. i stood there in horror, and looked around the room, as i picked her up out of the line of "the lone ranger's" fire. powder was as thick as an overnight snow in Denver! i grabbed her in one arm, and the bottle of powder out of his little hand with the other arm. i set the powder down, and with her in tow, picked him up as well, and left the clouds of new falling snow behind, slamming the bedroom door shut, as i left. neither of them understood the urgency of me getting them out of their "snow" covered room. i stripped them both, and they were both delighted that an afternoon swim fest in the bathtub was next on this remarkably fun day they were having. i couldn't believe how much powder was on my baby girl. landon was a happy little camper, telling me over and over "sissy laughing, mama", "sissy laughing at ME mama!"
i don't remember how much time i spent on their bedroom, trying to get all of the beautiful snow out of their sheets, beds, curtains, toy boxes, closets, carpet, blankets, picture frames and walls. EVERYTHING had to be washed, and dusted! did you know, you'll ruin a vacuum cleaner, vacuuming powder up? i don't remember what it was, but i do remember that dinner was take-out that night.
after our "snow day", it wasn't as important for me if ric giggled or laughed, much. i figured she'd have plenty of time for that when she was older. and if not, i figured there were probably tons of women who didn't laugh a lot either, and she would be okay. but do understand that when i did hear her laughing, i came immediately to her side, to find out why, especially if i knew landon, was with her. i may have stopped checking when she was around 10 or 11!!!
our memories are the snapshots of days gone by, and as you probably know, digital cameras were not invented yet. i have no pictures to post of what that girl looked like, but the memory will be etched in my mind forever, and every time i see that white little face, and huge blue eyes, just looking at me, blinking, i laugh over and over again, in my heart.
thank you for this memory landon and erica, i cherish it, just as i cherish both of you.
bee funny!
