>Shhhhh…Don’t say the title too loudly. I’m not sure I’m ready.
Just kidding. I’ve actually been a Grandma since I was 38 years old (19 + 19, right). I have a lovely granddaughter, who unfortunately lives in Omaha with her mother. That is a story, but for another day.
This story is about two wonderful, five year old twin boys who we just discovered less than three months ago, Alan’s grandsons.
Alan with Dane and Cash |
Alan and I were invited to stay over at Lisa and Kelly’s place in Huntington Beach this past weekend. Kelly was playing in a golf tournament in Burbank, and Lisa hoped to stay over the last night with him. The funny thing is, Lisa kept thanking us for doing them a favor by staying with the boys. Are you kidding? We were so happy and excited to have a chance to stay and take care of them we were beside ourselves. Fortunately, our cross country schedule opened up and we jumped at the opportunity.
We were supposed to get there early enough to see the boys play in their soccer game last Saturday, but with one thing and another, we didn’t arrive until just as the game was finishing up. Four word: cat poop/dog vomit. We were bringing our two littlest dogs, Lily and Olivia, along, and wouldn’t you know it. As we were leaving, Olivia managed to step in some cat poop, get it on me, and we both had to get washed up (and I had to change). Lily, who seems generally to be more comfortable in the car, got car sick (twice!). Nothing like blaming your lateness on your dogs who can’t defend themselves! It was too bad that we were late. Cash had scored the first two goals (with assists from Dane).
The Tidal Waves–sorry we missed their game. |
We all headed over to the house, where Lisa headed up to pack and get ready to go. Alan, I, and the boys took a walk to pick up a sandwich. That was a bit of an adventure (and we’d only just started this twin-sitting!). Our dogs just aren’t used to all that action on Main Street in Huntington Beach. People, bikes, skateboards, other dogs, all jammed on the sidewalks; all this had Lily and Olivia, um, very excited. Lily, all eight pounds of her, was ready to tackle every cruiser bike that rolled by. They eventually settled down, though, and we had a nice walk and lunch.
They were a lot more excited than this, but I didn’t take a picture. |
When we got back to the house, Lisa had left, and we were on our own with Cash and Dane. They love playing with the dogs (and vice versa), so a lot of energy was expended running through the house. We spent some time reading and just enjoying spending time with them. Lisa had stocked up on lots of veggies, so we stayed home for dinner while I cooked up some whole wheat pasta, zucchini and yellow squash, garlic, peppers and artichoke hearts. It was really good, and, we decided, a whole lot easier than going out to dinner.
The next morning, Alan and I did our run in shifts. He ran first, while I fixed breakfast for the boys. I ran next, four miles along the beach. It was cool and foggy and wonderful. While I was running, Alan bravely took both boys and both dogs and headed out for a run with them. I frequently run with two of our big dogs, but for Lily and Olivia this was a new experience. They all ran to the pier and back, maybe a little over a half mile. Fortunately, they all made it back in one piece.
One of only two pictures I took all weekend, believe it or not. Bad, Bad, Blogger! |
The boys had a birthday party to go to, so we got them bathed dressed and they were picked up by a friend’s mom. Ah, rest time for the grown ups. Kind of, anyway, we headed out for a walk around town, had a smoothie, and got home only about 10 minutes before the boys. Guess all this parenting stuff is kind of like riding a bike.
This picture I took with my phone was so bad I didn’t even tweet or facebook it. But here it is, proof we were there. |
Lisa and Kelly arrived home a little later, again full of thanks (really, really, not necessary). We chatted for a little while, then we left for home. Oh, the best part? While the boys had starting calling Alan “Grandpa” a few weeks ago, they’d seemed at a loss as to what to call me. They didn’t seem quite ready to commit. So the best part was, as I was leaving, I got to hear, “Bye, Grandma!”
You know what? It doesn’t make you feel old at all. It just feels great.
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