L J Idol Exhibit A Week 8 Ruffians
Grampy and I have five grandkids together. John and Alex are now grown men in their twenties. Victoria is a freshman in high school. Jared is almost eleven out in Texas and Connor, Victoria’s younger brother is seven. I have memories of all the boys being ruffians at one time or another particularly playing with Grampy and horsing around outside. Victoria has always been a little lady.
In my grandmother-hood I used to think of all kinds of neat things to teach my grandkids, like my favorite family traditions, some tenets of social responsibility, and maybe how I could be the coolest grandma ever. But over the years, whenever I attempted to impart hundreds of significant life lessons to any of them, it seemed like the best message I gave was how easy it was to distract me with something like, “I think Buttons got a mouse!” while they reached for an unattended brownie on a plate in the kitchen!
In the early eighties, the two older grandsons and their parents lived with us for a while.
One of the most endearing stories from that time was when I discovered John, maybe four years old, sitting on my kitchen floor in front of the cabinets which housed my pots and pans. I came into the kitchen to find him with a colander on his head and speaking very seriously into the plug-in handle to the unattached electric frying pan.” Earth to Jupiter. Earth to Jupiter. Come in, please. This is John.” It was the most precious sight. I think I have told just about everyone I know how creative and cute he was during the Star Trek era.
If names like He-Man, Skeletor and Man-at-Arms mean anything to you, you were probably also a child of the 80s. Those hot cartoon characters, Masters of the Universe I think they were called, had their own line of toys and every little boy wanted to own Castle Greyskull and the entire line of He-Man action figures. My second grandson, Alex, was a big fan of the action figures and their various modes of transportation. He was more of a quiet and withdrawn child back then but he loved to go off by himself with a piece of paper and a pencil and draw.
I was astonished one day when he brought me a drawing of rockets and characters that looked like real comic adventure hero stuff. He was so little and so smart and talented even then. I remember taping his drawings up on the cellar door for display. I heard years later that he harbored a desire to break into the world of comic book illustration or some form of graphic arts. When he is famous, I will say I remember when... I still have his early pictures tucked away in my box of treasures.
The little brothers had very different temperaments, but they still played together sometimes. I enjoyed getting right into the act being rowdy with them, too. I remember the times I’d slip a tape into the cassette player and get some circus music on. We’d haul out the pots and pans and spatulas from the lower cupboards and march around the house playing parade and whooping it up; through the living room, up the hall and into the kitchen again. I hope they remember those fun times as much as I do.
The two older boys moved away quite early in their lives and logistics prevented us from seeing each other very often. I regretfully missed a lot of times to get to know them better but I do have my favorite memories of visits and some pictures to hold on to.
Our middle grandchild, Victoria, the only granddaughter, has always been our Princess. And what little princess does not dream of having a horse of her own? My Little Pony, a line of colored plastic horses with brushable manes and tails was one of Victoria’s favorite toys. Each original pony had its own name and corresponding “cutie mark” on its hips. When we visited her family up country, I remember her quietly grooming Butterscotch, Bluebelle, Cotton Candy, and Blossom for hours.
She was a pretty self-sufficient toddler who learned to entertain herself in imaginary play and reading books. She moved on to American Dolls for a while but having learned to read early, she was more often found curled up with a book than out running around or playing with friends. Now a freshman in high school I have no doubt that her love of reading inspired her creativity in many of her homework assignments as she recently earned high honors and made us so proud.
Almost eleven years ago, my second oldest daughter and her husband decided to have a baby. I was dispatched to Texas to help with baby Jared for nine months until they were comfortable with moving him into a daycare. We developed such a special bond in those early months. I manage to visit at least once a year and they always invite me to go with them on their family vacations as well as visit at their home. We have been to the Caribbean, Alaska and Hawaii on cruise ships and Disney World twice. He still loves me to be his playmate for video games and splashing in their pool. I’ve booked my flights to go visit in July for his birthday, but I’m sure we will be chatting on Skype several times before then.
Our last little guy, seven year old Connor, is Victoria’s younger sibling. We all live pretty much together since his parents bought our family home just a few weeks after he was born. I have written about him quite a few times over the last few years. Because I have been so close to him and his antics these past seven years, it seems like he has been my best teacher. Every day I delight in his humor and inquisitiveness. And the best part is- he actually asks me questions once in a while!
You know, I’ve learned I didn’t really have to teach my grandchildren anything at all. They had their parents and teachers and Google, and reruns of Full House for that. I found that whenever we were together, I could simply just listen to them tell me about their lives, instead of the other way around. It finally hit me that maybe I was supposed to learn something from them. I mean, no one ever taught me how to be a grandmother. Like with parenting, there really is no instruction book.
A special thank you to Spydielives for being my beta reader and helping with editing. Love you!
In my grandmother-hood I used to think of all kinds of neat things to teach my grandkids, like my favorite family traditions, some tenets of social responsibility, and maybe how I could be the coolest grandma ever. But over the years, whenever I attempted to impart hundreds of significant life lessons to any of them, it seemed like the best message I gave was how easy it was to distract me with something like, “I think Buttons got a mouse!” while they reached for an unattended brownie on a plate in the kitchen!
In the early eighties, the two older grandsons and their parents lived with us for a while.
One of the most endearing stories from that time was when I discovered John, maybe four years old, sitting on my kitchen floor in front of the cabinets which housed my pots and pans. I came into the kitchen to find him with a colander on his head and speaking very seriously into the plug-in handle to the unattached electric frying pan.” Earth to Jupiter. Earth to Jupiter. Come in, please. This is John.” It was the most precious sight. I think I have told just about everyone I know how creative and cute he was during the Star Trek era.
If names like He-Man, Skeletor and Man-at-Arms mean anything to you, you were probably also a child of the 80s. Those hot cartoon characters, Masters of the Universe I think they were called, had their own line of toys and every little boy wanted to own Castle Greyskull and the entire line of He-Man action figures. My second grandson, Alex, was a big fan of the action figures and their various modes of transportation. He was more of a quiet and withdrawn child back then but he loved to go off by himself with a piece of paper and a pencil and draw.
I was astonished one day when he brought me a drawing of rockets and characters that looked like real comic adventure hero stuff. He was so little and so smart and talented even then. I remember taping his drawings up on the cellar door for display. I heard years later that he harbored a desire to break into the world of comic book illustration or some form of graphic arts. When he is famous, I will say I remember when... I still have his early pictures tucked away in my box of treasures.
The little brothers had very different temperaments, but they still played together sometimes. I enjoyed getting right into the act being rowdy with them, too. I remember the times I’d slip a tape into the cassette player and get some circus music on. We’d haul out the pots and pans and spatulas from the lower cupboards and march around the house playing parade and whooping it up; through the living room, up the hall and into the kitchen again. I hope they remember those fun times as much as I do.
The two older boys moved away quite early in their lives and logistics prevented us from seeing each other very often. I regretfully missed a lot of times to get to know them better but I do have my favorite memories of visits and some pictures to hold on to.
Our middle grandchild, Victoria, the only granddaughter, has always been our Princess. And what little princess does not dream of having a horse of her own? My Little Pony, a line of colored plastic horses with brushable manes and tails was one of Victoria’s favorite toys. Each original pony had its own name and corresponding “cutie mark” on its hips. When we visited her family up country, I remember her quietly grooming Butterscotch, Bluebelle, Cotton Candy, and Blossom for hours.
She was a pretty self-sufficient toddler who learned to entertain herself in imaginary play and reading books. She moved on to American Dolls for a while but having learned to read early, she was more often found curled up with a book than out running around or playing with friends. Now a freshman in high school I have no doubt that her love of reading inspired her creativity in many of her homework assignments as she recently earned high honors and made us so proud.
Almost eleven years ago, my second oldest daughter and her husband decided to have a baby. I was dispatched to Texas to help with baby Jared for nine months until they were comfortable with moving him into a daycare. We developed such a special bond in those early months. I manage to visit at least once a year and they always invite me to go with them on their family vacations as well as visit at their home. We have been to the Caribbean, Alaska and Hawaii on cruise ships and Disney World twice. He still loves me to be his playmate for video games and splashing in their pool. I’ve booked my flights to go visit in July for his birthday, but I’m sure we will be chatting on Skype several times before then.
Our last little guy, seven year old Connor, is Victoria’s younger sibling. We all live pretty much together since his parents bought our family home just a few weeks after he was born. I have written about him quite a few times over the last few years. Because I have been so close to him and his antics these past seven years, it seems like he has been my best teacher. Every day I delight in his humor and inquisitiveness. And the best part is- he actually asks me questions once in a while!
You know, I’ve learned I didn’t really have to teach my grandchildren anything at all. They had their parents and teachers and Google, and reruns of Full House for that. I found that whenever we were together, I could simply just listen to them tell me about their lives, instead of the other way around. It finally hit me that maybe I was supposed to learn something from them. I mean, no one ever taught me how to be a grandmother. Like with parenting, there really is no instruction book.
A special thank you to Spydielives for being my beta reader and helping with editing. Love you!