Category: fun

We ended up with not one, but two, special guests over the past few days. Our littlest grandson, who is somehow 10 months old already, spent some time with us over the weekend. He is on the move now, crawling like he’s gas-powered. I got a few priceless pictures of my husband crawling next to him, with our grandson looking back at him like he’s patiently giving him pointers on how to improve his crawl game.

He woke us up at “what-the-hell-time-is-it” o’clock, and I thought for sure he’d nod back off after a bit, but nope. As far as he was concerned, it was time to play and laugh and crawl back and forth between us to offer equal opportunities to adore him. And since we are well-trained and doting grandparents, that is exactly what we did.

After work yesterday, we had a second special guest, our older grandson, who is 3. He spotted the watering can in our garage and was fascinated with it, so my husband filled it up and let him water the grass, some potted plants, the walkway, himself, and pretty much anything else that looked like it could use some hydration.

My husband decided the watering can wasn’t enough havoc and mayhem for his liking, so he hooked up the garden hose and turned it on full-blast, then handed the trigger to our grandson. For some reason, I believed that our grandson would chase his dad and his granddad with the hose, but certainly not an imposing, refined, and stringent authority figure such as his grandmother.

Well, I was certainly wrong about that. Our grandson shrieked with delight as he chased all of us, me included, around the front yard, blasting us as much as he could with the hose, each direct hit punctuated with a fresh round of uncontrollable toddler laughter. I do believe that random people walking down the street and even police officers would not have been safe from his gleeful spree. In the end, all of us were dripping wet, walking funny in our soaked shoes, hair plastered to our heads. My wet eye makeup streaked until I looked like a giant raccoon. I’m not sure who was more amused: our grandson, or my husband!

Both grandsons are growing so fast. I still remember sitting in the hospital room, waiting for the arrival of our first grandson. I love my stepchildren, and now having their children in my life is something I can’t even describe. I glimpse echoes of my stepsons in them, right alongside their own unique little personalities, and it’s beautiful and overwhelming. In the blink of an eye, they will be grown, too big for me to pick up and hold above my head, too independent for my lap, too tall for the adorable baby and toddler clothes and toys we can’t buy enough of.

But that day hasn’t come yet, so we will enjoy them being little while they still are. I already know, from watching my stepkids grow up, just how shockingly fast it all happens. This time, I feel pre-warned. I will slow down. Watch them. Enjoy them. Soak it all in. Love them. Hold them tight, but be ready to start letting go, because after all, growing up is exactly what they are supposed to do.