Well we had to return our last set of grandparents after the Thanksgiving weekend. They’re still functioning in perfect working order, and there was no issue with their grand-parental performance — but much like the books we get from the library, we got to enjoy them while they were here, and we will be able to check them out again, but we have to return them when they are due, so that others can enjoy them too! Or something like that…
Not to worry, though, we got our second installment of grandparent fun delivered just a few days later. Grandpop Michael showed up with bags of souvenirs from around the globe and more jokes than a stand-up comedian. He wowed the girls with dolls from Macedonia, shirts from Nepal embroidered with their names, and bizarre cat noises almost no one else could create. He made the girls laugh and gave them “heck” (as he’d prefer I say…).
It has been fun to watch the grandparents with the kids. Each one interacts in his or her own way, and the girls respond in their own ways as well. It makes for some fun anthropological research — if you’re into that sort of thing, which I am. The other thing that has been really interesting to me is collecting more data about where personality comes from. What a weird and wonderful thing human personality is…
We enjoyed an extended weekend with Grandpop, and packed in as much fun and restaurant food and shopping as we could all stand, and then sent him back off to Virginia and then on to parts unknown. His spot in the pink chair was barely cold before we got our next installment of family, though… Grammy arrived yesterday and surprised us all by bringing with her Natalie’s sister Em. But more on that next time!
*
Be well.
