Sunday, September 28, 2008

"I Love You, Grandpa"

Sometimes you have to listen carefully to what a 5-year old says - especially if you are dozing and watching football, as I was today.  Lucas is pretty good at expressing his feelings, and he sometimes uses fairly big words to do it - "this food is real tasty," "I like to watch the NASA programs on Discovery Channel," etc.  Today he climbed up in my lap as I dozed with Logan in the crook of my left arm and said the words every grandparent aches to hear..."I love you, grandpa."  I came alert really quick and never did go back to sleep - my head and heart were just so full of happiness.

I call my trips to Santa Cruz "making family history" because each time I come we have an experience that may last a lifetime.  These little guys (Lucas is 5, Logan is 2.5) will remember the fun they have with me - the baseball in the backyard, the Grandpa Monster that chases them, catches them, tickles them, carries them around upside down, lets them climb Mount Grandpa all the way to sit on his shoulders,  that takes them for ice cream at Foster's Freeze down the road, that lets them get naked in the front yard and squirts them with the hose, that makes really bad dinners that somehow get eaten, that is too lax on discipline, the endless watching of Disney Channel in the morning and PBS Sprout in the afternoon and evening (Caillou, Thomas, and Sesame Street are our favorites - I like Sesame because it's an hour long and I can sneak some winks, but have to listen for the freezer door opening - they sneak ice cream when unsupervised).   

For his birthday, we gave Lucas a 4-DVD set of "When They Left Earth" - a history of space flight.  He has watched all of them in the last three weeks, has learned the names of astronauts and space vehicles, understands the different parts of the Apollo vehicles and the Space Shuttle.  He amazes me with what he knows and remembers, even though he isn't reading yet.  Over the winter when I was coming here monthly to help my daughter while her hubby was in Iraq, I taught Lucas all about how an airplane flies - the forces and moments, and he can demonstrate them still.  He has a box of different airplanes that he pulls out and flies around the house, even though most now have missing wings or tails.   Every time I come in on the airplane, he has to know if it was a blue Southwest airplane with wingtips.   When they flew back from San Diego last month, they were taken into the cockpit and he asked the pilot how to move the elevator.  The kid is 5.  

He can run faster than I can now, and he's building his endurance with soccer.  They had practice today for an hour, and he was constant motion for 15 minutes at a time.  He has excellent hand-eye coordination and can hit the ball, with decent form, well (depending on the pitcher, of course).   He is very good with his little brother, and has learned to translate Logan's words for all of us.  

He loves me, and that's enough for me!  Not many hugs and kisses, but plenty of cuddling and snuggling, especially on the couch (which leads to the aforementioned roughhousing or climbing). 

I'll have to brag about Logan next time.

Now it's off to bed early so that if Logan comes in again at 5:15 I will have had at least 6 hours sleep.  Their parents come home on Sunday evening, so I'm looking forward to getting some rest when I get home, and get back to research and blogging.   But I'll never forget this little part of my "family history" with my grandsons.  I think they'll remember it too.  But will one of them pick up the genealogy and run with it?  

2 comments:

Charley "Apple" Grabowski said...

Very sweet!

TERRY SNYDER said...

Okay, I admit I am a sentimental softie, but I loved this post and a glimpse into this side of your character. I think grandchildren bring out the best in all of us.