During the holidays, I had the opportunity to spend some time with our six-month old granddaughter. For some reason, during this time I began doing and saying things, that six months ago, only Nostradamus could have foreseen. I was amazed at how quickly my vocabulary reverted back to time when the noises that came out of my mouth were mostly unintelligible. In her presence, my voice become softer and at least three octaves higher. When she looked at me, I made faces at her and for some reason I couldn't resist the urge to hide my face in my hands and then pop my head up and say, "Peek-a-Boo" in my new pubescent voice. It was as if she had a spell on me. I would try anything to get her to smile and to laugh; it didn't matter who was watching.
But wait... there's more! This spell that she cast was only limited to making me look and act silly. Actually, she didn't need to cast a spell on me to make me look and act silly; that is a common, everyday occurrence in my world. Somehow, her power was futile against my superior male instincts. Let's see... Uh-Oh, she's starting to cry: Give her to Grammy. Something doesn't smell so good: Give her to Grammy. I think she's getting ready to spit up: Give her to Grammy. No baby can fool me.
As we were raising our children, which has now spanned a period of nearly 30 years, there were times that I affectionately referred to our experience of having children as being pecked to death by chickens. The age difference between our oldest daughter and our youngest son is 12 years. There was a time when I had one child entering puberty and one in pampers. I think I choose pampers. I didn't handle those teenage years with my daughters very well. Actually, I made their boyfriends fill out an application to date them. True story. I also told prospective suitors that I loved my daughters dearly and if they did one thing to harm them that I couldn't be responsible for my actions and that I had no problem going back to prison. But I digress.
At age 50 I am probably better suited to be a parent now but that ain't gonna happen. Me and Doctor Murphy took care of that a while ago. Besides, in the cycle of life, it's my turn to be a grandparent now. I did my time and served my sentence as a parent. Actually, I wouldn't have traded my time as a parent for anything. I have been blessed in this life.
Recently, my wife and I were discussing about getting a playhouse to put in the backyard for our granddaughter. Immediately, one of our daughters cried foul and said that we never bought them a playhouse for the backyard; to which we replied, "You weren't our granddaughter."
Let the spoiling begin...
Be Well.
Bill
