Just So Aimee Lou

The first attempt I made to write a children's story was Just So Aimee Lou. It has been read by friends and family and has been shared with hundreds of children in various settings. Aimee, my oldest daughter, is twenty-eight-years old; however, when I wrote the story, she was eight. Twenty years ago! Even though she is not as "just so" as she used to be, she is still pretty high maintenance. She just recently bought a charming cottage. During the moving in and renovation process, I definitely caught glimpses of just so Aimee Lou...especially when it came to deciding on paint colors.

Now, I really see that eight-year-old come alive when people come to visit. Aimee walks around with a coaster in one hand and a cleaning wipe in the other! Because she lives so close to the beach, sand is always an issue. I won't even begin to describe her high maintenance mania when it comes to sand in her house! She genuinely wants her friends and family to feel comfortable in her home, but she also wants everything to be "just so"!

Keeping everything just so is another one of those tough assignments. A couple of weeks ago, I went to have new tires put on my vehicle. I was talking to a guy about the maintenance on my car and how expensive it was to keep up. We got into a discussion about maintenance, in general. "Our whole lives are about maintenance," he said. "It's maintenance for our cars, our kids, our houses, our pets, our bodies! It seems like we spend our entire existence just trying to keep everything going. We even buy burial policies and life insurance, so that we can keep on maintaining after we're dead! It's exhausting! Dental check-ups, batting practice, oil changes, laundry, homework, flea treatments, weeds and flowers, gym workouts, air conditioning filters...it never stops! And here I sit, getting new brake pads on my car. Maintenance is like a drill sergeant; just when you think you have finally caught a break, there he is screaming in your ear!"

Wow! I thought, this guy needs a vacation. Or did maintenance just whisper that into my ear? When I had my two younger children one year apart, maintenance took on a whole new meaning. I was the editor of a newspaper, and I couldn't juggle all of those "just so" balls; so I traded in my writing pens for diaper pins. If you are really high maintenance in one area, the other areas of maintenance will suffer, such as friendships, hobbies or careers. I know. I completely dropped off the radar when I was maintaining the lives of three children under eight.

TODAY'S BIG STORY: World War III again...for about the tenth time this week! Matt and Katie are taking full advantage of their rank as terrible two-and three-year-old toddlers. Today they broke Barbie's neck. Yesterday, they tore out the parts of Aimee's books that they didn't like and colored the rest. I've tried shutting the door to her room, and they still find something of hers to destroy. Aimee has always been such a neat child, keeping everything clean, organized and in its place. I think Katie was pretty much following her example (through Aimee's strict indoctrination!) ...until Matt came along. That's when he began his campaign of mass destruction, and Katie was recruited in no time at all. So, the peacekeeping mission continues with me in the middle!

JUST SO AIMEE LOU

In the small town of Center Ridge
lives a girl named Aimee Lou;
Aimee Elizabeth, to be proper,
but Aimee Lou to me and you.

There is one thing about Aimee Lou
that everyone must know -
when it comes to her room, her clothes and her toys,
everything has to be just so.

She has a place for everything
and keeps everything in its place.
When something is where it doesn't belong,
she makes an awful-looking face.

You see, Aimee Lou was an only child
until she was almost eight;
then something unexpected happened
that seemed absolutely great!

Aimee's mom came home
from the doctor one day
with the most wonderful news,
"A baby is on the way!"

A little sister, thought Aimee Lou,
who will be just so like me,
and always put everything
right where it's supposed to be.

And a little sister she was,
a baby girl named Katie Bea -
Kathryn Beatrice to be proper,
but Katie Bea to you and me.

Those first six-months were fun
for just so Aimee Lou;
then one day her mother announced,
"I've got another surprise for you!"

I went to see the doctor
for a check-up yesterday.
I can hardly believe the news myself!
Another baby is on the way!"

Wow! Another baby,
thought just so Aimee Lou.
This time I am sure
that only a boy will do!

And a baby boy he was,
a little brother named William Matt.
But after the first year passed by,
this one turned into a brat!

Matt went through the house
like a wrecking machine
and made the biggest messes
Aimee Lou had ever seen!

He tore up all her favorite books
and broke all her pretty dolls;
he pulled out all her shoes
and wrote on all her walls!

Day in and day out,
he tried to drive her crazy!
And there was one thing she knew for sure -
BOYS WERE JUST PLAIN LAZY!

Worst of all,
if all that wasn't enough,
he was teaching just so Katie Bea
to do all that rotten stuff!

Then one sunny afternoon,
they were playing outside.
Matt climbed up the ladder
and fell off the slide.

His little head was bleeding,
and his tiny jeans were torn.
Aimee remembered all the times
she wished he had never been born.

While Mom called the hospital,
Aimee lowered her head.
She walked to her room
and knelt beside her bed.

"Even though he tears up
everything I own,
without Matt around
this house just won't be home."

Aimee Lou and Katie Bea
sat quietly with Dad and waited.
All Aimee Lou thought about was the Matt she loved,
not the brat she hated.

At last, Doctor Phil announced,
"Matt is okay! He just needs a few stitches,
some chocolate ice cream
and a new pair of britches!"

When Aimee Lou saw Matt
with messy ice cream in his hand,
she knew there would be times
he'd be more than she could stand.

But at least she had learned a lesson
that everyone should know -
there's more to this life
than keeping everything just so.

Dianne B. McLaurin. Copyright, 1990.

I have just started blogging this month. This is my third and final attempt, because blogging is so high maintenance. Sometimes I only recognize high maintenance as that "just so" unforgiving friend. My "just so" friend never lets me off the hook when I drop the ball. Even now, if I forget to call one of my kids before a difficult college exam or forget a family member's birthday or just forget to pay a bill, my "just so" friend pays me an unrelenting visit. Still, I want to give blogging one last try, even if I mess it up occasionally. Maybe that's what we all need to do: Hide the coasters, take off the white gloves and allow a little sand into our lives.

Dianne ; )