So what am I talking about here? I
guess to do for them what that
past generation wasn’t able or
interested in doing for me. To give
them a leg up on this wonderful
opportunistic world of ours.
I’m not going to raise them. That’s
not my responsibility. I know
Brian and Melanie and their respective
spouses can do a great job
at that. My job, my responsibility, and
my pleasure will be to simply
add benefit to their already rich
lives.
I want to feed them a broad menu of
experiences and opportunities.
Of course, there will be the obligatory
biking, frisbee, T-ball, soccer, softball,
gymnastics, Go Fish, Left, Right,
Center, and eventually Chess.
But I want to take a giant step beyond
the norm.
Like cooking and baking with Nana and
other culinary explorations. A zillion
crafts of every conceivable form.
Extra-curricular school work with Nana and Papa,
garage-sales with Nana, toeing the
Pacific with Papa, paddleboard and body-surfing, hiking in the
mountains of Colorado and California, trail running, bouldering in
Joshua Tree, feeling the bite of Lake Superior in Springtime, birding
in our backyard, and so
many more as yet unimagined
experiences.
.
I want them to become desert rats, surf
charmers, ski bums, Northwood’s explorers,
rock climbers, trail runners, mountain
bikers, road warriors, museum meanders, Costco diners, play goers,
zoo explorers, and a plethora of other unique monikers they can wear
with pride, not the least of which might be an americanized version
of dharma brats.
Fortunately and yet unfortunately, my
grandchildren weren’t born hungry. So I want to
impress upon them a philosophy of hard
work and dedication to cause. Just as their parents and grandparents
did before them.
I want to ignite a fire in their
bellies that that drives them to excel at anything and every-thing
they attempt to do. To be the very best that they can be and every
other cliché we’ve all heard. I can’t do it for them. Their
parents can’t do it for them. But perhaps together we can instill
in their computer-like brains our own philosophy of hard work and a
focus on education.
They need to understand that humility
is a virtue. To remain low-key and let their actions
speak louder than their parent’s
praise. Actions do speak louder than words.
It’ll be a challenge when the rents
aren’t there. Brian has already perfected the routine: “Say, what
are you doing for the next week?” Melanie is working on it.
Montreal looks promising. Pretty soon they’ll team up to leave town
and we’ll have all five grand-children to house, feed, and teach…if
only for a brief period of time.
Maybe I can document ‘life with the
grandkids’ as I did when I created a travel docu-mentary for Brian
on his semester around the world or Melanie’s study abroad in
Ireland. Something tangible they can hold on to even as their
childhood memories start to fade and teenage attitudes begin to fill
that void.
Whether it’s ‘Sweetpea and the
Gang’ or any other ‘Tales of the Five’ I hope I can tell
stories around these five youngsters.
Children need to know that they are
loved. These five unique human beings truly are and I am so blessed
to be able to call them my grandchildren.
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