Tonight I got to be with grandchildren Olivia, Ethan, and Merrily, while their parents, Seth and Haley, went to a party hosted by Towne Club at Peachtree City. Towne Club is the most recent building completed by Seth as a project manager for Choate Construction Company. Towne Club is “an after 55 lifestyle community” with quite an array of amenities.
While Seth and Haley basked in the glory of a job well done, I hung out with the kids. Ethan asked me help him with his own construction project. He is putting together a Lego Star Wars gunship that has over a thousand pieces.
Merrily said she had something she wanted to show me. She took me by the hand and led me to the garage. She climbed in the back seat of the Honda Odyssey and asked me to climb over car seats and assorted toys to help her open up a little compartment. Then with great pride she pulled out a tiny one inch square of fabric that was the object of this trek.
Back in the house I got a full dose of the Disney and Nickelodeon Channels. Domino’s Pizza delivered our supper precisely at the requested time of 6 p.m. The drink of choice was hot chocolate. Instead of eating at the table we spread out a blanket on the floor, and continued watching a movie.
Dessert was cookies and cream ice cream. When I wondered if there was some peppermint ice cream, Olivia climbed on top of the kitchen table and removed some peppermint candy canes that were hanging from the light fixture. We found a hammer and smashed the candy and sprinkled it over the ice cream.
When bedtime came at 8 p.m. we headed upstairs. To settle the question between Olivia and Ethan about where we would have prayers, we agreed to pray in both bedrooms. We finished prayers in Ethan’s bedroom and he immediately hopped in bed. Olivia went to her room to read in bed for awhile. Merrily ran to her room and jumped in her bed. After I closed her door, she started her routine of singing in a loud voice (as she also does on the potty or in the tub).
When I looked back in Ethan’s room he was already sound asleep. Then Merrily called out she needed her “blankie” that had been left downstairs. So I retrieved it and brought it back upstairs for her. After my return downstairs I heard some running up and down the hall upstairs. Once again I went back upstairs to find Merrily wide awake. She asked if I would read to her “The Night Before Christmas.” Upon completion of the book she asked for another one but I declined the request. She rolled over in bed, and went to sleep finally (I think).
It was fun and joyful, as always, to spend some time with my grandchildren. But I cannot imagine how I could summon the time and energy and attention to do it all day, every day. That’s what I love about being Pappy. I can love ‘em …and leave ‘em … and let their parents try to correct all the stuff I might have done to spoil them a little bit.
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