Cuddles Melt the Heart

When grandchildren come to visit, grandparents had better be prepared. It’s easy to forget what a Herculean task lies ahead. Preparation must be done with the precision of a military strategist.

Stock the house with the necessary items for survival. It will be important to have a potty seat, bathtub toys, a booster seat, sippy cups and plastic plates with pictures of a cartoon or action figure. The only food needed will be corndogs, peanut butter, jelly, bread and fruit drinks. Cereal such as Cocoa Pebbles, and Frosted Flakes should be on hand. Grandchildren will not eat bran flakes. A baby doll and carriage, a good pirate sword, action figures, puzzles and toys with billions of pieces may come in handy. Within an hour of the little darlings arrival the house will look like a tornado whirled through.

If grandparents are keeping toddlers, they need to learn how to speak another language, “toddlerbonics”. One morning as I was shaving, enjoying a rare moment of quiet solitude, a sweet little voice broke the silence.

“Pa, you nakin?” (Translation: Pa, are you naked?”)

I was clothed except I wasn’t wearing a shirt.

I laughed and said, “No Holly, Pa took off his shirt to shave.”

As I turned to look at her I heard a loud ear piercing shout that can only be made by a two year old. She was standing at the top of the steps.

“Bady, Pa’s nakin!”

She was yelling down to her brother, Brady. The timing of her announcement wasn’t good. Brady was at the bottom of the steps standing at the front door talking to a neighbor lady that we barely knew. I just hope she didn’t understand “toddlerbonics”.

Grandparents must have the ability to keep their sanity while performing many repetitive activities. Small children enjoy doing the same things over again and again and again. Holly carried around a little quilt most of the time and at any given moment would say, “Hi seek my cover.” (Translation: Let’s play hide and seek. You cover me with this quilt and then see if you can find me.”)

So we played “hi seek my cover” at least a hundred times.

Grandparents need a bunch of patience. My wife, who is affectionately called “Sasha” by the grandchildren, was putting them to bed. It had been a long day, and we were tired.

I had settled down to watch the last of the deciding game of the Giants-Marlins division series. The Giants were ahead. Just as the Marlins were mounting a threat to tie the game or even to take the lead, Sasha wearily entered the room and said, “I can’t get Brady to lie down and go to sleep. Will you see if you can get him to go to bed?”

Reluctantly I got up and marched into Brady’s room.

“Hi Pa! May I have another glass of water?”

Another important thing for grandparents to understand is that grandkids have the ability to consume all eight daily recommended glasses of water at bedtime.

“No, you can’t have anymore water,” I snapped. “You get in that bed, and I don’t want to hear another word out of you,“ I commanded.

Without hesitation Brady jumped in the bed and got under the cover. I kissed him and turned out the lights. As I was leaving the room, anxious to get back to the game, a pitiful, little voice called out, “Pa, could you cuddle with me and tell me a story?”

My heart melted. With that one request my grandson taught me a lesson in patience. I lay down beside Brady, and he snuggled up close to me. My mind still on baseball, I began telling him a story about a baseball team that had not won a championship since 1908. I hadn’t gotten very far into my story when he stopped me and began telling me a story about pirates. He finally finished the story. I told him good night again and started out the door to return to my game.

“Pa, why did God make night?”

He couldn’t fool me --Just another “stall tactic” trying to get me to debate him on the creation theory, I thought. I’ve been to seminary; I can answer this question. “God made night so that little boys can sleep, so they can grow up to be big strong boys. God knows you need rest, and He wants you to go to sleep right now. Good night. See you in the morning.”

I hurried back to see how the game was going. As I sat down in my recliner at last, I noticed that the Marlins were celebrating an exciting come-from-behind victory.

Grandchildren certainly change our lives when they come to visit-- in fact they control our lives. They upset our routines. They interfere with our plans. They make a mess, and they test our patience. They also bring a lot of love into our houses. They are simply a joy, and their visits are always “priceless”.