Babies and kids.

It is amazingly tiresome to watch kids.  This weekend, I had three out of four of the grandkids.  Lily (almost 6), Caroline (2 ½) and Jack 13 months.  Maisie (8 months) wasn’t invited to the party.  I Think that all babies that are not only children should be allowed to be only children now and again.  This was the first time that Maisie had all of her parent’s attention.  It was also the first time her mom and dad’s first time to see Maisie as an only child.

They realized how easy she is.  Caroline their older daughter is always in forward motion.  Always.  She even is prone to night terrors.  So she can be exhausting at times.  She is NOT by any sense a bad child.  She is a super smart child with all kinds of ideas to explore.  The funny thing about Caroline is you can hurt her feeling really quickly.  She can melt into tears if she thinks she might be in trouble. 

I often see how much like her uncle (my oldest son, Chris) she is.  Always moving, sleeping was always tough.  Chris spent a lot of time punishing himself for things he thought he was in trouble for.  He was always beating himself up for no reason.  He was also the worrier.

When Chris was in kindergarten and was tested at the end of the year, he saw the teacher talking to me and assumed he was failing the school year.  The teacher was asking if the guidance counselor wanted to test him because he did so well on the test.  I was fine with the testing.  The day he was tested, he was asked a series of questions.  At one point the question was, What color is a banana?  Chris stopped and looked at her and thought about it When he answered he was reluctant.  Finally, he said that it was a hard question because he didn’t know which answer was the best.  After being prompted, Chris reasoned and said that bananas are green, then yellow, then yellow and brown spotted, then brown, then black.  He wasn’t sure which one she was looking for.

Back to the grandkids.  My daughter has two daughters who are livewires.  Greg, my second son has two kids (Lily and Jack) who are just laid back.  Lily is the most compliant child I have ever encountered.  When she is here, you never have to ask her anything twice.  The only thing that she does is announces that she is hungry at bedtime.  We know it’s coming so we are proactive.   Jack is walking.  He is a boy and is more willing to explore that Lily.  But he is just as easy.  Jack is always ready to share a smile.  The core difference between Lily and Caroline is Lily is the child who will sit for an hour and color or draw.  Caroline is the child who will Draw on her face with markers. 

I like the time I have with the grandkids.  I know that I am fortunate.  I see the years slipping away.  It can’t be helped.  It’s just a reminder of how we have to cherish the time.