Artichokes, Aprons, and Art

For years now, Sharon and I have been brainwashing our grandkids every chance we get. It has always been unapologetic and unbridled in Nana’s attempt to influence. The kiddos, as Amy likes to call them, were roped into kitchen duties, art classes and learning table manners. Later on, theatrical ventures became a part of their time spent in the desert. All under the guise of: ‘you need to learn this now so you can use it for the rest of your life.’

Now, none of us adults have any illusion that our grandchildren are going to become world-class gourmet chefs, New York gallery artists or a modern-day version of Miss Manners. But they darn well will become comfortable around a frying pan, a paint brush and learn how to prepare an eight-course meal. And it ‘will be fun’ in the process….so says Nana. If any of them catch the artists/acting bug, Papa will also be thrilled beyond words.

For the last seventeen or so years, Sharon and I have been fortunate enough to be able to host both families; the LaCombs and the McMahons in Palm Springs for either the Thanksgiving or Christmas holidays. From the very start, when Maya was just a toddler, Sharon felt it was important to introduce her grandchildren to the culinary arts, painting in many different mediums and basic table manners.

The kiddos very quickly went from baking cookies to more complex recipes. Pretty soon, they were preparing side dishes and desserts for many meals. Art classes began with alcohol ink then graduated to more complex mixtures of acrylic paints and other formulas to get some interesting results.

All of the grandchildren helped set the table at night, learning proper placement and table etiquette. They learned to wait until everyone was served before beginning to eat. They understood that a simple prayer and acknowledgement of life’s graces was also part of the ritual. It was family time and family was/is everything for us.

As the years passed and the kids grew older, Papa began writing short plays for ‘staged readings’ that the kids could perform. The first props were puppets and loveable ‘Cash,’ their Colorado dog. Their parents and an ever-growing audience of friends and neighbors were in attendance for their performances.

Over the last several years, music has been added to the mix and Maya singing, accompanied by Samantha on her ukulele, has entertained the crowd. It’s just another example of our pushing the grandkids out of their comfort zone.

When you’re at Nana and Papa’s house, it’s part of the package. The kids have grown to understand and (I think) like the ritual, the process, and the pushing of comfortable boundaries. It’s become part of overall experience of time spent in the desert. I think we’re all the better for it. I know I certainly am.

Sweetpea and the Gang

It began as an idea that had been percolating in my brain for a very long time. Simply stated, it was to capture the innocence and essence of my grandchildren in their early years. Back to a time when simple play and discovery ruled their worlds. I wasn’t sure how I was going to package this storyline but I felt it held great promise. The title came from a moniker Charlotte’s parents had given to the youngest of the group. And it fit her perfectly.

If you go back far enough, Charlotte did look like a ‘Sweetpea’ and they did look like ‘the gang.’

Unfortunately, time passed far too quickly from that initial moment of inspiration and the gang all grew up. The five grandchildren are practically young adults now (four out of five are in their teens). If not quite adults, they are well on their way into their maturing years and young adult-hood. Where the heck did the time go?

Although I missed my first opportunity to capture them ‘in the moment,’ I’ve collected enough comments, statements, antidotes, truisms and incidents that could fill a small graphic novel or the beginnings of a comic strip. For example:

Brennan asks: “Why doesn’t it hurt when you get a haircut?”

Charlotte asks: “Why did they nail Jesus to the cross when they could have used glue?”

Samantha giving her ‘death stare.’

What I haven’t already collected ‘from the mouths of babes,’ I can always make-up. In this case, I have a ready resource in their parents and the kids themselves for past vernacular gems. I’m confident there’s a wealth of material to mine out there.

After completing my first children’s book entitled: Waleed, the Skinny Hippo, I got to thinking about another children’s story that’s been nudging up against Waleed for the longest time. It started out in the form of a comic book then a comic strip and finally a graphic novel. All under the banner of ‘Sweetpea and the Gang.’

Following the gestation and wonderful creation of Waleed, I am beginning the process of trying to find just the right illustrator who can draw cartoon characters that best resemble my grandchildren at a younger age. After that, there’s the storyline, the flow of content, and most importantly, trying to capture the excitement, fun, and silliness that would be at the heart of ‘Sweetpea and the Gang.’

The format keeps switching from comic book format to comic strip to graphic novel. The final form will depend on a variety of things such as marketing opportunities, content presentation and the amount of heavy duty labor involved. Ultimately, it will all depend on the illustrator chosen and his or her ability to create content at a reasonable cost, then acceptable timeframes and the right correlation between my written text and the final illustrations. Not a small undertaking at all. But after Waleed, I’m confident there is an illustrator out there who can do the job.

Now I just have to find him or her and make the connection. Maybe, after all these years, I will be able to share the pure joy of youth in the form of ‘Sweetpea and the gang.’ Here’s hoping.

It's Not Baby-sitting Anymore

It’s not that time simply flies by. It’s more like a booster rocket carrying your life and daily events along with it. One moment, you’re holding your first born grandchild in your arms and the next she’s going to homecoming with friends. Where the heck did time go?

We affectionately call them the ‘Colorado kids’ because they were made for that state. They’re at one with the outdoors, the mountains high and the adventures it brings to their lives.

Sharon and I have been going out to Colorado every year for over fifteen years, minus last year with Covid. The routine is usually the same. Brian and Amy give themselves a week or long weekend away from home and Nana and Papa become the new semi-parents in town. The grandkids love it as much as we do.

As this stage of the game, I know the greater Denver area pretty well. So when Amy gives me her elongated list of the kid’s games, practices, scrimmages and lessons, I usually know where I’m going. It’s changed over the years with specific sports and locations but it still fills up usually six out of seven days and some evenings. That is not counting school activities and social events.

The kids love my chauffeuring skills since it usually includes spotting out of the way garage sales, Cold Stone Creamery, their favorite drive-thru, and parks to play in. Sharon loves garage sales because the kids know they have to negotiable for any item they want to purchase or Nana won’t be happy. Brian and Amy (especially Brian) just grits his teeth when the kids come traipsing home with their ‘treasures’ bought for a dime on the dollar.

Over the years, some things never change according to the mantra from Nana

Our last visit to Colorado in September was heavy with familiarity. It began with an early morning Lacrosse game, several soccer games, gymnastics and plenty of time for art lessons.

Spencer continues with his gymnastic lessons and is progressing like his father did years ago. Maya’s Lacrosse game started at 6:15am Saturday morning (warms up) on a wind-swept hilltop in shroud-covered South Denver. Veteran parents came equipped with thermos of some kind of liquid, hoodies, and blankets. Fortunately, at the last minute, I had switched out my shorts for jeans and a fleece.

By the time we took Samantha to her first soccer game later on that morning, it was bright and sunny and we were shedding our jeans, jackets, and blankets from earlier in the morning.

Sharon outdid herself this time with her art lessons every day.

But this year it was different. We were no longer the grandparents baby-sitting the grandchildren.

Sharon and I were struck by the resiliency and maturity of these three kids from years past. We no longer had to chide, coercive or bribe them to go upstairs to take a bath and get ready for bed. We no longer had to argue against more time playing outside or engaged in card games. When it was time for bed, it was time for bed.

The grandkids are growing up…much too fast. That includes the Minnesota pair too.

I think it hit both of us this fall in Colorado. Sharon and I still got to kiss the kids good-night. We still got to feel their warm soft pajamas, wet, just washed hair in our face and loving embrace that only a grandchild can give a grandparent. But it was different this time around. It’s wasn’t baby-sitting anymore. It was being there for them, with them, and alongside them. They could now take care of themselves and we were only the adults in the room to make sure daily routines got done.

B & C Come to Visit

One of the many undiscovered joys of life for me was to become a grandparent. Growing up, I had no idea what a grandparent was supposed to do or be. The kind of influence a grandparent can have on a grandchild is phenomenal. I’m not talking about material things which don’t mean Jack in the greater scheme of life. I’m talking about the little things, the little day-to-day incidents that can mold and shape the kind of person a child becomes. I can only hope that Sharon and I have been that kind of influence on our five kiddos.

Sharon and I with the five grandchildren

Aside from a couple of visits early on in my life, there were no grandparents from either family ever present as I was growing up. Fast forward many years and Sharon and I have been blessed with five wonderful grandchildren. Unfortunately three of them live in Denver and, aside from their Palm Springs visits and our (pre-pandemic) trips to Colorado); we only get to see them once or twice a year.

Fortunately each year, both Brian’s and Melanie’s families are able to join us in Palm Springs for either Thanksgiving or Christmas. Each visit is a wonderful memory-collector for the entire  LaComb/McMahon family tree.

Since they were infants, Brennan and Charlotte have stayed with us in Apple Valley for visits, playdates and sleepovers.  They stayed with us for two weeks a couple of years ago when Melanie and Scott did an anniversary trip, traveling through Europe.

Unfortunately this summer, with the pandemic in full bloom, it was different story. We only had the kids for a week sans sleepovers. That was too bad because Sharon and I have created quite a tradition with their Chocolate Chip pancakes for breakfast, a fast game of either bumper cars or radio-controlled cars.

Usually we would end each evening at bedtime with a new story of their favorite made-up character called ‘Copper the Hopper.’ This long held tradition of ‘Copper the Hopper’ bedtime stories usually included a heavy dose of tickling, finger-snaps on the head (simulating getting hit by golf balls) rolling off the bed and more tickling. By stories end, the bed covers were in shambles, both kids over-activated and ‘time out’ needed to calm down before we kissed their foreheads and put them to bed.

Sharon and I know that we can never pinpoint just what experiences are being stored in our grandchildren’s collective memory banks. Scooters in the desert. Dress up at the St. Paul Grill. Nana’s pool. Cupcakes?

Closer to home, it could be B & C’s favorite climbing tree, garage sales, ‘Copper the Hopper’ bedtime stories, Culvers restaurant, dress up dinners with Nana and Papa, beadwork on the porch or cooking classes.

With their abbreviated one-week stay this summer, we managed to get in the Minnesota Zoo, a lot of porch fun, working in the mulch garden and of course, their favorite climbing tree.

Sharon and I agree that one of the first things we’re going to do once the pandemic is over is fly to Denver to spoil, entice, and spoil some more the Denver trio of Maya, Samantha, and Spencer. Closer to home, we’re going to stage another weekend blast at Nana and Papa’s house for B & C.

If they’re not too old, we’ll invite ‘Copper the Hopper’ along for the romp, ride, and joyful reunion.