This a perfect day to free write. My grandchildren Aidan and Mia arrived and I knew I wouldn’t get to writing until mid afternoon. And I didn’t know how much energy I would have left.
Being a grandmother is not something I know a lot about. My mother’s mother died when I was two and my dad’s mother died when I was six months old. My mother died when my oldest son was seven. Hence we had not much collective experience when I became a grandmother myself. I come at it with a Zen mind. I know that I’m not the cookie baking type, or the knitting sweater type. I had to make it up as I went along. I moved to the city where they live to give being a grandma a last-ditch, full blown try.
My son, the Mister Mom in his family, is working in the morning and asked me to take care of his kids on Thursday. All summer. I didn’t know how I would do it but said yes anyway. I figured I could wing it if necessary. They showed up at eight o’clock this morning equipped with game toys, I pads, books and a tech sort of thing that can be used as an alarm clock. I told them that their dad said I should get myself into the 21st Century. They laughed. I have a Kindle so I got out my Kindle to be a techie, too. When I let them in the apartment I had been checking email. I welcomed them. told them to make themselves at home, and went back to my computer. When I got back in the living room where they and their stuff had settled, they were quietly playing a game. Okay. I got the puzzle page from the morning newspaper and worked on the puzzle. They moved on to books. It was very quiet. Okay, now what. I had believed that we as a group would find our group dynamic so I waited. Mia’s gadget sent its alarm and that broke the tension(if there was any). We moved into a more conversational mode. I told them what to expect from the day. That we were going to Boston Market for lunch. Silence. That their dad told me they liked chicken, creamed spinach and mashed potatoes. They still said nothing. What’s up. Then my grandson Aidan asked me what size the place was. I thought and said about the size of my living room. He said he was picturing a huge food court from the word “market”. He does not like crowds. I laughed. What a lesson on communication and thinking my words communicate what I think they do. He was fine after he asked his question and had my assurance we were not going to have lunch in a cavernous space with noisy crowds of people.
poetrybyheart.me 
I loved wading through your stream of consciousness 🙂
Thanks. And wading is a good way to put it. My poor touch typing is showing.
Loved it! Your story telling just gets better and better. I enjoy how you kept us right with you in the experience of being a grandmother and wondering how to deal with the kids for a day. xo
Thanks. These past four weeks have been magical for me. I’ve found great joy and purpose in writing. Comments like yours help a lot. I’m confident I will find my niche.
By the way, Thursday with my grandkids was not at all like babysitting at their house. A small shopping area with a few fast food places is within walking distance of my apartment. We’ve already decided to go back to Boston Market to order different side dishes and to Baskin Robbins to try more flavors. This is play for me and I now look on my day with GK’s as a play date for us all.
It sounds like you are going to have a fun summer, and no doubt learn lots more “lessons”!
This really is a learning experience. Happy Summer to you.
Thank you!