With a series of family visits planned, I packed toys, books, needlework and science projects. I have to keep up with my grandchildren’s illusion that I have more toys than they do. I doubt it, but I do enjoy watching the grandkids play with the toys I find at yard sales.
A hand-sized sandbox caught my eye months ago as the perfect item for our 10-year-old granddaughter. Last year she arranged various miniature scenarios in my unfinished doll house. This year, she spent an hour marveling at the toy sailboat just barely larger than her thumb; moved sand with the half-inch rake and filled the tiny castle molds with the special sand to create a sand castle the size of an index card.
I boiled water to use with a crystal-making science kit. I have been wanting to do this experiment for years. The grandchild’s presence simply provided an opportunity. She chose the colors, stirred the mixture into the water and every day checked the growth of the crystals. We both learned that the rolling boil dissolved the mix thoroughly and produced the best crystals.
I also learned that any overlooked, spilled mixture on the counter would also grow crystals.
Traveling must include books. I need them for my entertainment during our hours on the road and now my husband enjoys audio books. Also, I aim to have more books in the grandchildren’s homes than in mine so I usually carry stacks of children’s books to leave at the homes we visit.
The needlework entertained me through long drive. Seeing the fabric and threads, the seven year-old said, “I want to sew something.” Later, the needles and thread came in handy when the four-year-old’s toy needed a couple stitches so she could play with it now, not later.
Most of all, I simply enjoyed watching the kids. The five year old grandsons’ imaginations began with one in costume seriously announcing, “I am a ninja” as he swirled around with his plastic weapon. His cousin, with a twinkle in his eyes, brought objects saying, “Let’s pretend this is a …”
The six year-old asked, “Can I paint your nails?’
I looked at her and thought of all the times I have declined the last stage of a professional manicure. Colorful nails are not my thing, but when a six year-old asks, without hesitation, I say, “Certainly.”
She carefully applied an opaque color to three fingernails. “I need to find some more,” she said. She stood up, walked away and never returned. It took me a week to apply nail polish remover to it.
A granddaughter, now a young mother, handed me a stack of colorful puzzles and games to share with the younger cousins. At the next house, the grandchildren dumped out the pieces. The first child needed a lot of coaching to match colors and shapes. One puzzle sufficed and he disappeared.
The 7-year-old and I spent a long time putting together all of the puzzles. She ignored my hint to search for straight edges. She did people and left the edges to me. Every time only five pieces remained, she insisted she could do it by herself.
I pulled out the games.
“This is like ‘Go Fish.’ You wanna play?” I asked.
She did.
“Do you have a fireman?” she asked.
I pulled out the fireman. She giggled. She took my card to add to her matching sets.
At the next, much shorter stop, as we prepared to leave, the first grader looked and looked at the stack of puzzles. “We don’t have those puzzles. Can I have them?”
Certainly. I don’t have anyone to play with them at my house.
Little boys mean energy and rough and tumble actions. I think that is ‘why’ the 9-year-old grandson grins, stays close and hangs around every time I scrub his head with a Dutch rub.
As I sat on a couch, the 2-year-old grinned and tackled me on the back. I leaned back and trapped him. His brother and sister tried to help him and ended up stuck beneath my arm and leg.
What is it about kids that they like to do this?
Whatever it is, the phase passes quickly. So visits with older granddaughters involved a sedate luncheon and chat before our departure for home with enough memories and insights of all the grandchildren, big or small, to hold us until the next time.
Joan Hershberger is a staff writer for the El Dorado News Times. Email her at joanh@everybody.org