The Lady in the Window

Stella's at the door just now...she's got $2 in her hand and is explaining that she intercepted our milk boy as he was coming to the door with our delivery. She wanted to get some buttermilk so she told the kid to put it on our bill.

The other day I heard her outside yelling, "Tracey! Tracey!" in a tone that sounded a little more desperate than usual. She'd been spying on us again. She was looking over our back fence, peeking through the chain link to see what was going on when a bee flew out of the hallow pipe that sticks in the ground. It stung her nosy little face square between the eyes!

In a panic and unable to see because her eyes were all watery, Stella stumbled into the house by my aid. I got her an ice pack and administered some Benadryl gel after a while. She was ever so grateful and kept referring to me as her 'little nurse'. Though she was back to joking around, I still had to really convince her that, no, it was ok, she need not make a trip to urgent care for a bee sting. And then I scolded her and told her I had no sympathy for her because she'd been up to her old ways. "That's what you get for spying, Stella!" I scolded.

We joked about it again the next day and all was back to normal, evidenced by the fact after she paid up the money for the buttermilk this morning, she started in about how great the elementary school around the corner is. I'm trying to remember...ah, yes...She was asking where Jacob was and Zach said he was in the backyard digging in the dirt. "He needs the dirt, doesn't he? But he'll be starting school in the fall." She said matter-of-factly. Right. I can totally see how she made the thought association from digging in the dirt to going to school. Because those two things are directly related.

"She is unbelievable," I told Zach as soon as he closed the door behind Stella. "She will not give up on the school thing. And it's not even like it's time for him to go. He wouldn't be starting for another year anyway!" But don't you just love how she plays the old lady angle each time? She pretends as if she's forgotten, lending more credit to her words of approval for the teachers there. Next time she raves about the teachers and how wonderful they are all, I'm going to say, "Oh yeah? Name one, old lady."