I just got back from DC where my two grandchildren live (Oliver, age 6, Miranda 3). I’m exhausted. From the time we landed a few days ago, all I heard was, “Grampy…let’s play!” Or, “Grampy…where can we go?”
I played chess. I played Go Fish. I played “Daddy” with Miranda’s doll. I watched Oliver do video games until my head hurt. And, I even went with them to the Botanical Gardens (they have real plants there!). By their bedtimes (around 8 p.m.), I was pooped. They may have fought going to bed (most kids do), but I welcomed it. Their “sweet dreams” meant some downtime for me!
I’m not complaining, mind you, just relaying the facts. If I ever wonder why young people have kids and old people don’t all I have to do is visit our nation’s capitol. My son, some 26 years younger than me, works all day. He gets home around 6 p.m. and then usually does the cooking for his wife and children. He’s into it so TV dinners or peanut butter sandwiches are out. Instead, almost everything is always homemade…even the butter! Even the kids’ lunch boxes are full of near-gourmet goodies each day. Oliver’s palate is so complex that escargot, caviar, Hungarian and Ethiopian cuisine top his list of favorites. After dinner, there are baths, more playing, and finally bedtime where Miranda requires two books, a back rub, and at least five minutes of “cuddle me” time. Oliver, although in first grade, reads better than I do so he’s usually content to read something about the solar system or quantum physics instead of having me read a Dr. Seuss something. All the while my son keeps moving, doing this and that. Doesn’t he ever get tired?
It’s hard to be depressed while with the kids. They are always wide-eyed, curious, and full of life. Things aren’t always great, but they seem to think that bad things don’t last forever and are always followed by something good. And, they’re right!
I’m home now, typing this blog and thinking about how if he were here, Oliver would be looking out my window at the beautiful plants my wife nurtures and the many questions he would be asking about them. Hmmm….look at that rosebush. Wow! I never realized there are pink and white and red roses sprouting out. And that tree! Japanese something. Bright red! Amazing!
I need to be more like the kids. I need to keep up my enthusiasm and optimism. I think I’ll ichat with them tonight. They’ll probably tell me the Royals will beat the Astros. And, if they don’t, something good will happen tomorrow anyway.