Dumb Stuff

My Grandma Sharp has a rather large deck with a closed gate. Danielle loves going outside onto the deck. In Pennsylvania our neighbors have a similar deck covered with toys but every now and then I hear a child crying on that deck so I suspect the toy laden deck is the location for time out in their home. I wish their time out location wouldn’t wake my baby up from her nap. Now I still don’t remember the name of Mike’s wife (or neighbor) but we have lived there almost a year so it is really past the point where I could re-ask what her name is. So I always say hi but can’t really invite her to come visit me or drop a thoughtful note by. I know it starts with a “J” and Dana if you are reading this- find out what her name is- it isn’t too late for you!
Anyway Danielle wants to play with the neighbors dogs (a black lab and Pomeranian respectively) and we don’t always want to stand outside for several hours while she lets the dogs lick her hands. My grandmother suggested that we let her stand on the deck and it worked like a charm- she could reach her hand through the deck but not her head or body. Plus the dogs didn’t get to lick her hands. Right now Danielle is on that deck. This morning I was trying to figure out if I should open the sliding door or not. Danielle wanted to go in and out and in and out. I went to grab some cherries and noticed Danielle doing something funny. She was walking in circles over and over again on the deck. She walked the same path and sometimes laughed and talked to herself. It reminded me that Danielle really is little Claire.
When Claire was little she loved to go outside and needed lots of alone time just like Danielle. She would sometimes run circles in the back yard or her bedroom or the downstairs. When my mom asked what she was doing she said “dumb stuff”. Now I don’t know everything there is to know about dumb stuff or what exactly Claire was thinking about because dumb stuff was really the only explanation we got. Actually sometimes I would do pull ups on the bunk bed and hang out with Claire during dumb stuff, which was an honor. How early does dumb stuff start? I felt a little joy in my heart that Danielle’s middle name was Claire. Right now Danielle is back on the deck and I am watching from the window.
My grandma has these tine little Tupperware bowls Danielle is carrying around and around the edge of the deck. She pauses sometimes to look at the dogs who are both giving her very lovely sits. How long does dumb stuff take every day? Has she always been running circles and I just missed it. Every day Danielle has alone time. She climbs the stairs and goes to the baby-proof upstairs (well some of the doors are shut but some of the upstairs is baby proof). She comes back an hour later, ready for some food. Danielle has lost her bowl of treats through the rail, trying to share it with the dogs. I would have a great photo but I still can't find my memory card. Danielle is still out there though- hooray for dumb stuff! And possibly finding out my neighbors name.