A Terrific Tuesday - August 24, 2019
This past Tuesday was terrific – in the positive sense of this word.
Our granddaughter Emma was dropped off by her Dad around 8 am and she immediately hopped into the bed in our guest room with a stack of books I’d borrowed from the library. It was the day of her 9th birthday so I could hardly object to her having Five Alive and Party Mix as her breakfast in bed.
Next, off to pick up almost-2 year old Jasper. Normally he is not keen to be separated from his Mom (to put things mildly) but he knew he was going to the Connaught Early ON Centre. He always loves the drive there – we get to see an endless supply of trucks and railway cars. And when we pulled into the parking lot he started shrieking “Hello! Hello! Hello!” This is Jasper for “Yee haw!”
Emma was not keen about being with a room full of little kids – she would consider herself a “tween.” But I assured her she could sit in a rocking chair there surrounded by books. Within a matter of minutes, she found an even better hiding place – a wee “cave” under the aquarium. She put on her headphones, played her music, and read her books.
Now you might think this is something to worry about, but Anna was just like that at her age. And Grumpa Laur still is, though he might no longer fit under the aquarium.
Jasper is starting to get into the swing of things at Early ON. He knows where his favourite toys are and normally scoops up “his” two train engines and school bus. When he’s feeling particularly inventive, he’ll put them in his shopping cart and wheel them around. I know it sounds like he is in training to be a homeless person, but he’s just experiencing toddlerhood in full bloom. Toddlers don’t have a concept of sharing. And to be honest, it’s not one of my strengths either. You’d know this if you ever tried to take food from my plate or borrow my computer.
After an hour of free play it’s time to go to the gym and the ride ‘em toys they have are amazing. Jasper knows that if he wants to get “his” favorite ride ‘em toy, he has to get there first or close to it. He raced down the hall with another little girl his age and was able to snag his favourite trike. Shy Jasper felt so empowered, he started to ride it like he’d stolen it. Emma arrived at the gym last, scouted out a corner with a padded mat and plunked herself down, and plugged herself back into her world of books and music. Her happy space.
My niece Tammy arrived with Manny (6), Nate (5) and Vivie (3) and these kids are at the perfect age to participate and play. They truly are the Three Caballeros – they love to play together and are never more than a few feet from each other. Jasper acknowledged them with a small smile – while holding onto his trike very tightly. Emma, on the other hand, didn’t even look up. Tammy just laughed. She went to high school with Anna. Said she didn’t know what Anna’s face looked like for the first two years because Anna was always hiding behind a book.
Time to put the toys away. This would be intolerable except Miss Anita has this down to a science. The kids get to ride their toys to the supply room, and the next activity on the list is SNACK! Today, Jasper was first in line to wash his hands – followed closely by Manny, Nate and Vivie. Emma was likely last in line – sitting around a table with little kids stuffing themselves was not her idea of a good time.
Jasper, instead of going to the snack table, immediately went to a little brown chair in the reading circle. This is not unusual for him. He loves this chair, and knows Storytime follows snacks. This day it was waffles and apples being served. Emma declined – choosing to remain in her cave under the aquarium. Manny, Nate and Viv were on this like – well, syrup on waffles. Just as everyone else was finishing, Jasper decided he would like a waffle after all.
And to his horror, while he was eating his waffle, a Mom sat in “his” brown chair – her two little ones sitting on the floor happily waiting to sing, review colours and numbers, and have a story. Jasper looked over and was horrified. He walked up to her with the saddest face in his facial vocabulary, pointed at her, and said, “OH NO!” He repeated it for emphasis. Tammy and I both started laughing. I explained to the Mom that Jasper considered this “his” chair. This Mom thought that was hilarious too – having a recently graduated toddler and a toddler-to-be - and happily moved to another chair. Phew! End-of-the-world clock for Jasper stopped just in time.
At 11:15 is was time to go. Jasper’s Mom arrived and, though he was happy to share his chair with her, he was happier still to head home to be with his “Umma” and “Appa” – Korean for Mommy and Daddy. We nearly forgot to rouse Emma from her cave. She would not have noticed - though the lights going off might have made reading more difficult. On the other hand, she carries an enormous rucksack – perhaps she had a Dora the Explorer flashlight in there. Jasper also has a good-sized backpack for his supplies – being a firstborn. Tommy, being a second born, at this age carried his own bottle and diaper in a wee suitcase. Tammy – being a mother of three kids close in age who race their scooters and cycle over to Early ON with great zeal – I think all she carries is alcohol swabs and bandages.
*****
I’m not going to go on in excruciating detail about the rest of this day, but it continued to be a happily contained riot. Emma’s friend Stacy (not her real name) arrived at noon and they went in the van with Grumpa Laur to pick out their pizza. While they ate it at our apartment, they enjoyed making “pop burps.” Next - off to try a new Bubble Tea place – Lazy Bugs. I don’t understand the attraction of trying to suck up tapioca through a straw – but it kept two giggly nine year old girls infinitely entertained. Next, a forced march around the Pen Centre Mall to burn off a little sugar before heading to the movie theatre.
We watched Dora the Explorer and the Lost City of Gold. I can’t say this movie was “my thing” but watching these girls laugh and shriek on a regular basis made me smile and chuckle. After we dropped off the girls at their homes, I said to Laur, “This was so much easier than a day home in our apartment…” He doesn’t get it and I’m not sure I do either.
What I do know is that the window of opportunity I have to hang out with my “grands” is very small and is shrinking by the day. Not only will there come a day when being with me is that last thing they’ll want to do, I’m not getting any younger or hardier. Having a broken clavicle all summer that is not healing is a constant reminder that what I could do last year, I may not be able to do this year.
While waiting for the movie to start, we saw an advertisement for world travel – oh the places I could go, the experiences I could have, etc. And I do look forward to our trip to South Korea in October to visit our kids and do some exploring of our own. And as the days get shorter and colder, I live in hope of being able to winter in Arizona to be with our “framily” there and do some exploratory hikes…
But as I watched these two tweens hilariously imitating the ads and as I reflected on the morning spent with my other grands, I thought to myself, “Truly, there is no where else I’d rather be right now…”
Our granddaughter Emma was dropped off by her Dad around 8 am and she immediately hopped into the bed in our guest room with a stack of books I’d borrowed from the library. It was the day of her 9th birthday so I could hardly object to her having Five Alive and Party Mix as her breakfast in bed.
Next, off to pick up almost-2 year old Jasper. Normally he is not keen to be separated from his Mom (to put things mildly) but he knew he was going to the Connaught Early ON Centre. He always loves the drive there – we get to see an endless supply of trucks and railway cars. And when we pulled into the parking lot he started shrieking “Hello! Hello! Hello!” This is Jasper for “Yee haw!”
Emma was not keen about being with a room full of little kids – she would consider herself a “tween.” But I assured her she could sit in a rocking chair there surrounded by books. Within a matter of minutes, she found an even better hiding place – a wee “cave” under the aquarium. She put on her headphones, played her music, and read her books.
Now you might think this is something to worry about, but Anna was just like that at her age. And Grumpa Laur still is, though he might no longer fit under the aquarium.
Jasper is starting to get into the swing of things at Early ON. He knows where his favourite toys are and normally scoops up “his” two train engines and school bus. When he’s feeling particularly inventive, he’ll put them in his shopping cart and wheel them around. I know it sounds like he is in training to be a homeless person, but he’s just experiencing toddlerhood in full bloom. Toddlers don’t have a concept of sharing. And to be honest, it’s not one of my strengths either. You’d know this if you ever tried to take food from my plate or borrow my computer.
After an hour of free play it’s time to go to the gym and the ride ‘em toys they have are amazing. Jasper knows that if he wants to get “his” favorite ride ‘em toy, he has to get there first or close to it. He raced down the hall with another little girl his age and was able to snag his favourite trike. Shy Jasper felt so empowered, he started to ride it like he’d stolen it. Emma arrived at the gym last, scouted out a corner with a padded mat and plunked herself down, and plugged herself back into her world of books and music. Her happy space.
My niece Tammy arrived with Manny (6), Nate (5) and Vivie (3) and these kids are at the perfect age to participate and play. They truly are the Three Caballeros – they love to play together and are never more than a few feet from each other. Jasper acknowledged them with a small smile – while holding onto his trike very tightly. Emma, on the other hand, didn’t even look up. Tammy just laughed. She went to high school with Anna. Said she didn’t know what Anna’s face looked like for the first two years because Anna was always hiding behind a book.
Time to put the toys away. This would be intolerable except Miss Anita has this down to a science. The kids get to ride their toys to the supply room, and the next activity on the list is SNACK! Today, Jasper was first in line to wash his hands – followed closely by Manny, Nate and Vivie. Emma was likely last in line – sitting around a table with little kids stuffing themselves was not her idea of a good time.
Jasper, instead of going to the snack table, immediately went to a little brown chair in the reading circle. This is not unusual for him. He loves this chair, and knows Storytime follows snacks. This day it was waffles and apples being served. Emma declined – choosing to remain in her cave under the aquarium. Manny, Nate and Viv were on this like – well, syrup on waffles. Just as everyone else was finishing, Jasper decided he would like a waffle after all.
And to his horror, while he was eating his waffle, a Mom sat in “his” brown chair – her two little ones sitting on the floor happily waiting to sing, review colours and numbers, and have a story. Jasper looked over and was horrified. He walked up to her with the saddest face in his facial vocabulary, pointed at her, and said, “OH NO!” He repeated it for emphasis. Tammy and I both started laughing. I explained to the Mom that Jasper considered this “his” chair. This Mom thought that was hilarious too – having a recently graduated toddler and a toddler-to-be - and happily moved to another chair. Phew! End-of-the-world clock for Jasper stopped just in time.
At 11:15 is was time to go. Jasper’s Mom arrived and, though he was happy to share his chair with her, he was happier still to head home to be with his “Umma” and “Appa” – Korean for Mommy and Daddy. We nearly forgot to rouse Emma from her cave. She would not have noticed - though the lights going off might have made reading more difficult. On the other hand, she carries an enormous rucksack – perhaps she had a Dora the Explorer flashlight in there. Jasper also has a good-sized backpack for his supplies – being a firstborn. Tommy, being a second born, at this age carried his own bottle and diaper in a wee suitcase. Tammy – being a mother of three kids close in age who race their scooters and cycle over to Early ON with great zeal – I think all she carries is alcohol swabs and bandages.
*****
I’m not going to go on in excruciating detail about the rest of this day, but it continued to be a happily contained riot. Emma’s friend Stacy (not her real name) arrived at noon and they went in the van with Grumpa Laur to pick out their pizza. While they ate it at our apartment, they enjoyed making “pop burps.” Next - off to try a new Bubble Tea place – Lazy Bugs. I don’t understand the attraction of trying to suck up tapioca through a straw – but it kept two giggly nine year old girls infinitely entertained. Next, a forced march around the Pen Centre Mall to burn off a little sugar before heading to the movie theatre.
We watched Dora the Explorer and the Lost City of Gold. I can’t say this movie was “my thing” but watching these girls laugh and shriek on a regular basis made me smile and chuckle. After we dropped off the girls at their homes, I said to Laur, “This was so much easier than a day home in our apartment…” He doesn’t get it and I’m not sure I do either.
What I do know is that the window of opportunity I have to hang out with my “grands” is very small and is shrinking by the day. Not only will there come a day when being with me is that last thing they’ll want to do, I’m not getting any younger or hardier. Having a broken clavicle all summer that is not healing is a constant reminder that what I could do last year, I may not be able to do this year.
While waiting for the movie to start, we saw an advertisement for world travel – oh the places I could go, the experiences I could have, etc. And I do look forward to our trip to South Korea in October to visit our kids and do some exploring of our own. And as the days get shorter and colder, I live in hope of being able to winter in Arizona to be with our “framily” there and do some exploratory hikes…
But as I watched these two tweens hilariously imitating the ads and as I reflected on the morning spent with my other grands, I thought to myself, “Truly, there is no where else I’d rather be right now…”