Weetabix Makes the World Go 'Round

It is hard to believe that this time last year we were in the process of selling our little 3 bedroom house. It was an adorable little house that James and I bought after we got married. When we moved in, two of the rooms were completely empty. By the time we moved out, the walls were busting at the seams. Thanks to our realtor, our house had back-to-back showings the minute it was listed on July 4th. While we were driving back from a fun July 4th weekend at my sisters, James and I quickly decided that trying to work from the house, juggle the kids, and work around all of the showings would be too much- so we packed up and moved to Grandma’s house. 

James’ Grandma is in her 70s, from England, spends her mornings at Zumba or having breakfast with friends. Grandma polishes her brass before events, plays Bunco once a month, loves vacations and swimming, laughs a lot, and she was very generous to let us stay in her home.

Right away, my girls made themselves at home at their Great-Grandma’s house. They had no problems jumping into Grandma’s routine and becoming little 70 year old women themselves. Where they typically enjoyed breakfast at daycare, they suddenly couldn’t bear the thought of leaving the house without their eggs, toast, and coffee. What a life. I was getting dressed one morning and walked in to find them eating Weetabix, out of glass bowls, for breakfast. Have you ever heard of Weetabix? Neither had I. It is wheat cereal flakes formed into a loaf. The yellow box draws you in with the wheat loafs, alongside blueberries, splashing in milk with the blue sky and yellow wheat fields in the background. This particular Weetabix box also had a 3” orange DISCOUNT $0.99 sticker on it, discounted because nobody eats Weetabix except Grandma, and now my children. Weetabix only has 2g of sugar per serving, is a good source of fiber, and tastes like cardboard. It is best eaten topped with Equal (that’s the stuff in the blue packet) and dissolves into flaky fish-food like mush when you pour milk on it. Just like that, the girls went from “clean-eating” greek-yogurt and honey in shatter-proof plastic kid bowls to Weetabix and equal in easily broken glass bowls. They adapt so easily to new situations (no glass was broken or harmed in the eating of the Weetabix). 

James’ Grandpa was stationed in England when he met Grandma. He was an Air Force Medic, father of three girls, the in-home chef every night, and loved to take his grandkids camping. Grandpa passed away when Addy was a baby and I feel very blessed to have known him and am so happy he was such a positive influence in James’ life. Grandpa was sick the last few years of his life, and would occupy his time looking up recipes on the computer, printing them out, and organizing them in binders. When we moved into Grandma’s and I was working out of her house, I sat at the same desk Grandpa used to sit at. One quiet afternoon the printer randomly started printing on its own. I immediately text James, Justin, and Kelsey (husband, brother-in-law, and sister-in-law) to let them know that I was pretty sure Grandpa was still present, that he had triggered the printer, and I think my exact words were “if that is a recipe, I am OUT OF HERE!” Thankfully, It wasn’t a recipe, it was a kid’s coloring page. I really don’t believe in ghosts, but my beliefs were tested in Grandma’s house when some other strange things happened. One day when James was there with the girls, the living room fan turned itself on and off (James captured that on video). Other instances included: a door slamming randomly, and the bathroom sink turning itself on in the middle of the night, and the IPad opening “Notes” and typing cryptic codes (caught that on video as well). Grandma said she had never noticed anything peculiar, but she keeps herself pretty busy so I imagine a ghost would exhaust themselves trying to keep up with her. 

Grandma set up two spare rooms for us, one for the kids and one for me and James. The kids didn’t want to sleep alone so we all ended up piled in one room on one queen sized bed. Every night, in the middle of the night, one of the kids would ask for apple juice or milk. Rather than argue with them I would assume my role as a late-night cocktail waitress and fill their cups with the beverage of their choice. I often wondered if there was a ghost in the house (or if these random occurrences had no relation to paranormal activity) and if it was indeed Grandpa or if it was another being. Well, that night it became clear! I headed into the kitchen and was about to reach the fridge when I heard a radio turn on. Grandma has an intercom system in her house with a radio in it, so I thought “eh, maybe a short in the system triggered it….” but then the song started playing. It was a song recorded by country music artist Ronnie McDowell and released in 1981. I can remember hearing it as a kid, the chorus goes like this: 

Older women, are beautiful lovers
Older women, they understand I've been around some, and I have discovered That older women know just how to please a man
Those young girls ain't got nothin' on you
'Cause it takes some livin', to get good at givin'
And givin' love is just where you could teach them a thing or two
Older women, they understand
I've been around some, and I have discovered
That older women know just how to please a man

So baby, don't you worry about growin' older

Older women, are beautiful lovers

James walked in and I pointed to the radio and said “That is your grandpa sending a message from the other side”…. Message received and heard loud and clear, the home-fires are still burning. Well-Played Grandpa..... Well-Played.

James and I sold the love-shack, moved into a mansion, the girls are back to eating non-processed foods for breakfast (unless I need to bribe them or bargain with them), and Grandma is probably glad to not have to clean-up after us anymore. There haven’t been anymore Grandpa sightings that we know of, but I am sure he is finding his own paranormal ways to keep the love alive (after 50+ years of marriage, and crossing over to the other side, he’s still letting Grandma know she’s his number 1).