How Grandchildren See Things

Today my oldest grandson Joe, big brother extraordinaire of whom I am proud beyond words, turns 12 ... one more year until he's a teenager!

In honor of that august event (yes, Mike and Gonzo Dave, I know it's July, just work with me, okay), here is a selection of quotes about grandparents, culled from the accumulated wisdom of a large number of eight year olds and shared on Facebook by one of my friends ... with my occasional commentary, of course:

"Grandparents are a lady and a man who have no little children of their own. They like other people's."

"A grandfather is a man and a grandmother is a lady!" (Well, in our traditional family, anyhow)

"Grandparents don't have to do anything except be there when we come to see them. They are so old they shouldn't play hard or run. It is good if they drive us to the shops and give us money." (First sentence: it all depends on how you look at it. Second sentence: truer every year. Third sentence: true. Especially the "give us money" part.)

"When they take us for walks, they slow down past things like pretty leaves and caterpillars." (At our age, we have a sense of childish wonder about some of those things, too!)

"They show us and talk to us about the color of the flowers and also why we shouldn't step on cracks."

"They don't say, 'Hurry up.'" (We don't hurry ... why should they?)

"Usually grandmothers are fat but not too fat to tie your shoes." (Agnes was not pleased about this one)

"They wear glasses and funny underwear." (True on the glasses. I'm not admitting anything about underwear)

"They can take their teeth and gums out." (Not yet, at least...)

"Grandparents don't have to be smart." (Well, that's a relief!)

"They have to answer questions like, 'Why isn't God married?' and 'How come dogs chase cats?'" (How many times a day can you hear the word "why"?)

"When they read to us, they don't skip. They don't mind if we ask for the same story over again." (I can't begin to tell you how many times I've read Green Eggs and Ham over the years...)

"Everybody should try to have a grandmother, especially if you don't have television, because they are the only grown-ups who like to spend time with us."

"They know we should have snack-time before bedtime and they say prayers with us every time and kiss us even when we've acted badly."

A 6-year-old was asked where his grandma lived. "'Oh,' he said, 'She lives at the airport and when we want her we just go get her. Then when we're done having her visit, we take her back to the airport.'"

"Grandpa is the smartest man on earth! He teaches me good things but I don't get to see him enough to get as smart as him!" (Although if you ask any of my granddaughters, they'll tell you they're a lot smarter than I am)

And finally, this one, which my granddaughter Leya hit me with one day:

"You're not getting old, Opa. You're just getting fat!"

And just as a reminder of how our grandchildren actually see us, here's a picture Elise (age four at the time) took of me with my phone last summer when we went to a Washington Nationals baseball game ...

To our children and grandchildren, we're giants. It's a perspective worth remembering.

Have a good day. Love your children and grandchildren. More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo