I am a mother and a grandmother. My granddaughter Mullaney Rose is amazing! She's almost three. She was born on the summer solstice. When we play outside we're always visited by faeries and see dragons flying by. Tiny faeries ride the bubbles we blow and flower faeries paint our flowers while we sleep at night. My daughter Julieanne, doesn't believe half the tales I tell her about when she was as little as Mullaney. 
  Two weeks ago it was our first really warm day. We went to Douglas State Park and walked along the beach. After hours skipping rocks and putting ONLY our toes in the still cold lake, we decided to eat our picnic. Mullaney was told she could stay by the shore while we set up lunch. I started to chuckle and Julie asked why. I told her Mullaney would be drenched in less than ten minutes, just as she would have been at that age. She said I had let her get away with far too much. I told her that there would be a very good excuse. She didn't believe me. I smiled and handed her a towel. 
  Before we had gotten the sandwiches out of the basket, a dripping Mullaney came pounding up the beach. " Mama! Nana! Mama! Nana! Did you see? Did you see?" she dropped into my waiting lap. " Boy, do you think she's gonna be in trouble Mama?" I asked her with a totally straight face. "What are you talking about?" Julie sat and glared at me. " Nana" she said " Didn't you see the mermaid? She pushed me right in!" She snuggled back against me, turned her angel face toward her mom and asked " Mama, did you see? Are you gonna get her in trouble? She pushed me right in!?"
She bit the inside of her cheek, passed the towel, dug out dry clothes, kissed me on the cheek and asked, with a straight face, "Is that the one who pushed me into Branson's Pond?"  I told her I was pretty sure it might be her granddaughter. After lunch we went to the edge of the lake, but since we were grown ups only Mullaney saw the mermaids, but we all yelled good-by. 
  As we left the parking lot, she wondered out loud if this mermaid's daughter would be around to push Mullaney's daughter in. I winked and told her it was pretty much a sure thing. Since daughters are so much like mothers.