This past week, I spent five days with my two grandsons. At ages 4 years and 20 months, they are full of energy and non-stop movement. They wore me out, but it was an exciting time of memory making.
The 4-year-old, Brain, is one of the smartest kids I know. He is bilingual, speaking English and Mandarin, and even reads a little of both languages. His vocabulary is large enough to surprise me. When we were playing school, he told me to spell vicarious. I spelled it and he told me I was almost correct, but it had two esses. Of course, it doesn’t, but I was impressed that he even knew the word.
Brain’s talents go beyond vocabulary. He loves to be read to, and I love reading books to kids so we read lots of books together. He plays the piano without looking at his hands. His imagination is fully developed. We played Rescue Me where I thought up scenarios of being in trouble, and he’d come help me out of them. We added a few new medical terms to his vocabulary when he was a nurse.
Short Stuff, the 20-month-old, is smart too. If he doesn’t get what he wants, he thinks of ways to get it. He’s a climber, scaling the retaining wall to play in the dirt, climbing over the gate at the bottom of the stairs, and standing high on the sofa. He has no fear. He loves to run and is relatively fast. There’s a “race track” between the kitchen and living room that he’s put many miles on. I logged a few miles chasing both of them around that.
Both of them love playing in the dirt. Even more, they love making mud out of the dirt. Their little swimming pool had the water. They have the outdoor toys to make mud and spread it all over. Including the house. I spent a fair amount of time cleaning them and the floors.
Mostly, I used the time to get to know my grandsons, and they got to know me. Short Stuff wouldn’t have much to do with me the first day, but after that, we had a good time together. Brain and I bonded a long time ago so it’s special to spend more time with him. I didn’t know my heart could hold so much love, but it keeps growing every time I’m with them.
Sidenote: On July 2, 2017, I wrote a blog about the special people of Texas. After watching the reaction of Texans during and after Hurricane Harvey, I hope you understand what I meant when I said they are all proud of their home state. I am too. Pulling together in a crisis is a sign of solidarity, and Texans have done that. Let’s do that as Americans.