We've Got Company

I've addressed the joys of grandparent hood previously. There are pros and cons. Bacardi Mama touched on both of them in her post on Thursday. She's always babysitting for her grandchildren and she always seems happy to do it but, if you don't know her very well, you may not know what a sacrifice she made this time. She's a died-in-the-wool, unwavering, lifetime Cubs fan and she passed up a chance to go a game to babysit her grandchildren. What a trooper! What a grandma!

Now it's my turn. We got a chance to have Anna and Noah visit overnight. Once again, I was filled with trepidation fearing that they might not enjoy it very much but so far it's been a really fun adventure.

Here they are coming home from a friend's house because I was there to pick them up.

We stopped at GFS on the way to buy the 20 oz styrofoam coffee cups that Mr. Grandright and I like. And I was amused to hear Noah gasp at what we paid for them. (Truth be told I gasped too. I had no idea we were spending that much on disposable cups .)

Then we went to Meijer to be sure we'd have everything on hand that grandchildren need to enjoy an overnight at their grandparents' house. We got cookies and soda and snack cakes. Our last stop in the grocery store was supposed to be for ice cream (required for root beer floats) and Toaster Struedels. I asked Anna to not let me forget and she didn't. Twice I almost checked out without them and each time Anna faithfully reminded me to head for the freezer section.

We went out to the car to get the re-usable bags before we checked out (see I am green in some areas) and when we went back in, there was a police car parked in front and just as we got up to it, a policeman escorted an attractive, hand-cuffed young lady to his car and helped her inside. This really got the kids attention and invoked every question imaginable mostly within earshot of the suspect.

I told Beth about it last night and said that she'd probably never have to worry about the kids stealing anything. She then told me about a friend whose daughter took a necklace belonging to her step-grandmother. When the friend contacted her dad and told him about it, he offered to have his police officer friend stop and talk to the culprit. I'm pretty sure that child will never borrow anything without permission again.

We utilized the self checkout, and I was impressed with Anna's grocery bagging skills. She bagged our entire $108 worth of merchandise and did a great job of it.

Then we went for a short stroll at Striebel Pond. As we were returning to the car, I was approached by an elderly (older than me) lady who asked a favor. She had walked a half mile with her cane following a hip surgery but just didn't think she could make it any farther. I took her around to the other parking lot a half mile away where her husband waited. The kids thought this was interesting too and asked all sorts of questions when we delivered her to her husband. For me, I got a kiss and a blessing for doing something I was grateful for the opportunity to do.

Here you can see how enthusiastic the kids were to visit Striebel Pond.

But soon Noah was worn out from all this dancing and walking upwards of 200 feet. And don't forget, according to him, we spent two hours at the grocery store. Anyway, at this point Anna's response lent new meaning to the song, 'He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother'.

This morning Anna and I put together a puzzle.

She did most of the work, and as Noah looked it over, I commented that Anna is really good at puzzles. I wish I could somehow include the inflections in his voice when he replied, "I know that!".

Today we're planning to go a popcorn festival but so far the weather isn't cooperating. The forecast looks promising though and I just know there'll be more adventures there.

I said I was worried about the kids having a good time but maybe that really wasn't my issue. Could I have been worried about me having a good time? If I was, my fears are at rest because I'm having a blast!