And The Big News Today Is . . .

It's a girl! 
GrandBoy will be the best big brother for his little sister. We can't wait to meet her in May!

Toddler Christmas Shopping

It's a crazy plan. Yup, I know that from the start. But here's what I want to try. I want to take almost-3-yr-old GrandBoy to buy Christmas presents for his mama and daddy. Gifts of his own choosing. With a fairly small dollar limit. And without buying anything for himself. Yeah. I'm looking for a Christmas miracle.

The thing is, I think he's old enough to understand the concept of giving. Joyfully. I want him to experience the fun of searching out and buying something special for the people he loves most in the world. Some little something that will make them smile, maybe a little keepsake. But I really want the gifts to be things that he has chosen. OK, maybe I can give a little guidance, but really, I don't want to do the selecting.

Is this impossible?

I'm fully confident that GrandBoy can do this. I think he will get in the spirit of the season and find some fun, perfect gifts for his mama and daddy. Gifts that he thinks are right for them. Still, it might take a little patience and guidance to toddler-shop successfully. 

Where can I take him to do his Christmas shopping? It has to be somewhere that doesn't have toys and stuff that will distract him to the point of just wanting 'prises for himself. So, Target's out (he knows where the toys are).

I am open to suggestions. Anyone shopped with an almost-3-year-old and successfully passed along the fun of buying for others, while avoiding a tearful meltdown when he realizes he's not shopping for himself? Can it be done? Any timely tips?

Visions of Storybooks Dancing in our Heads

I love a good Christmas book, especially the kid-variety. Some I grew up with. Some came into my life when my daughter was small. And I'm always on the lookout for something that catches my eye and my heart. I wrote something similar a couple of years ago, but that was before GrandBoy enjoyed more than just the taste of a good board book. Here are a few that he's ready to enjoy, I think:

The Little Golden Books 1940s/50s version of The Night Before Christmas. This is one of the very first books I remember as a little girl, and I still get that little girl feeling when I look at the illustrations.

How the Grinch Stole Christmas Well, the Dr. Seuss rhymes get me every time. And it's different - and a different experience - from the cartoon version (and certainly different from the Ron Howard version). Never gets old.


Father Christmas Letters by JRR Tolkien.What an exquisite gift Tolkien gave his children by writing these intricate letters from "Father Christmas." Funny, but Santa wrote just like this when replying to my daughter's Christmas Eve letters. Hmmm.

Peter Spier's Christmas. No words, just lots and lots of detailed pictures, so you can spend as much or as little time as you want talking about it with a child cuddled next to you. Great memories from when Kate was little.

It occurs to me that I don't have any real memories of Baby Jesus storybooks. Perhaps it was because there were so many manger images in our children's Bibles and at Sunday School that a storybook wasn't necessary. Anyway, I'm happy to recant that false memory if something comes to mind.

This is by no means a complete list of my children's Christmas favorites, but they are the ones that first fly into my head when I think of cherished storybooks.

What am I missing? 

Adding to Our Thanksgiving Blessings

GrandBoy is to be a big brother! The news is out that I'll get to spoil two grandchildren, come May. Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Sticky Situation

Last weekend, Grandboy and I took a road trip to the mountains of North Carolina for our annual parish retreat at Kanuga. His dad had to work and his mama was under the weather, so we loaded up the minivan and headed for the hills - just the two of us. I was somewhat trepidatious. I'd had him all to myself several times for long lengths of time but always at his own house. I wasn't sure how he'd take being in a different place with no parental units nearby.

No problems. First of all, several of his little friends were in the cabin next to ours. Second, he had full run of the place - his first taste of independence. And third, well, he's just a roll-with-it kind of kid.

There was lots to do - playgrounds and dances and hills to roll down and places to hide. But by far the favorite activity was, er, "sticking." Sticking is finding endless things to do with short or long, big or tiny tree branches that have fallen to the ground. (Yeah, I just made up the activity called "sticking.")

While glow sticks and balsa airplanes were fun for a while, the brown, wooden limbs provided free by Mother Nature were far and away the favorite amusement-provider of the weekend. I shouldn't be surprised. It's the same whenever we're in his own yard or at the park.

Oh, the versatility of the simple stick. We stabbed leaves and lily pads, batted pine cones and rocks, smacked trees, water, logs, and bushes, and made secret markings on the ground. Grandboy was the Stick-finder in Chief, providing himself and little me with suitable stickification along the way. He often traded out one stick for another. Sometimes they were simple and bare; sometimes they had lots of offshoots and clumps of leaves or pine needles.

The fact is that we found endless things to do with these free things found on the ground. I can't believe Mattel or Hasbro (or Apple) haven't found a way to create a plastic or electronic stick and charge us big-time for 'em. Wouldn't put it past 'em. But we'll have the last laugh. Just as long as there are trees shedding their branches and children who have a bazillion ways to use them.

Try to remember that whenever you are tempted to spend a lot of money for battery-powered Christmas and birthday gifts. Perhaps a little stick-hunting expedition will be much more appreciated.

21st Century Toddler Travel, Part II

As promised, I will now reveal the Number One toddler travel strategy for parents facing an airplane journey with a little tyke. Seems it's all about unwrapping small surprises. The sheer thrill of a wrapped 'prize begging to be torn into is just too, too exciting for a little one. So much so, that just the thought of impending unwrappiness is enough  to keep a kid on his best behavior.

Mom and Dad brought along a bag o' tricks (mentioned in my previous post) which included lots of small toys, crayons, and the like individually wrapped in cute wrapping paper. Daughter reports that GrandBoy didn't care nearly as much about what was inside the wrapping as he did about actually tearing off the paper. Ain't that always the way? So, hit the dollar store or the $1 bin at Target for the surprises. Spend your effort wrapping your finds.

Another popular activity was iPad games. GrandBoy has his favorites, so he knew what to do. And any time Mom lets him play around with her iPad is pretty special. Enough to keep him occupied for a while. Until it was time to open another little giftie. Of course, at the end of Liam's first plane ride was the promise of Disneyland and a big hug from Mickey Mouse. Yeah, the trip had a lot going for it.

The impending journey caused a lot of pre-journey stress, but, fortunately, GrandBoy's airplane behavior proved not to be a problem. Whew! In fact, he enjoyed the plane ride. He didn't give any trouble about staying in his seat with his seat belt on. (I'm sure it helped that his mom and dad were strapped in on either side of him.) And he slept most of the way back to Atlanta, even though the parental units were armed with more little wrapped packages. I'm sure it made for a pleasant journey for all contained within the plane.

Now, I don't know whether this works for every child, but it worked for Liam. Who knows if the same tricks will apply next time? We shall see. At least in the end he got a hug from Mickey.

21st Century Toddler Travel

Toddler vs 4 1/2-hour cross-country airplane trip. The tension has been building for a couple of months. Who would win? The 2 1/2 yr. old or the other passengers on the plane? This would call for intense training and preparation.

Assurance and reassurance. GrandBoy needed help understanding the concept of flying in an airplane. He's been a plane-spotter since he was a baby and knew that we're down here on the ground and airplanes are way up in the air. Very cool. Until it dawns on him that when he's in a plane, he'll be way up in the air, too. Not so cool. So he's had a love/hate relationship with the notion of flying. Repeated assurances that he'll be sitting between Mommy and Daddy the whole way helped a little. Assurances that the airplane will be taking him to see Mickey Mouse worked a lot better. By the time we got to the airport and he got to see the airplanes, he was ready to go. Sitting between Mommy and Daddy. Going to see Mickey Mouse. Assurance. Reassurance.

Toddler luggage. The latest thing is a clever little hard-sided bag called Trunki. Pack it, pull it, ride it. And it fits under the seat and in the overhead compartment. GrandBoy's looks like a tiger. It holds all of his clothes for an 8-day trip, and it is very cool. (Almost-three-yr-olds like cool stuff.) Also, he has his familiar little backpack, stuffed with familiar objects like his Curious George. Trunki + backpack = "I own this trip!" 

Bag o' tricks. Hm. How to keep an active toddler occupied in finite space for 4 1/2 hours? What about raiding the dollar stores and shelves for puzzles, play-dough, markers/crayons, games, and other time-honored diversions and gift-wrapping each little item? The plan is to dole out the goodies - and, frankly, use them as bribes - when GrandBoy gets antsy. He really likes " 'prises," though he's never been tested for this length of time. Also, tucked away in the goody bag - treats like gummy bears and goldfish. Obviously, mom and dad are not counting on this little live-wire to nap.

OK. So this was the plan put into place for yesterday's trip from Atlanta to Los Angeles. Navy SEALS could not have implemented the program any better than GrandBoy's parents. So, who won, Toddler or Passengers? I have it on the best authority that everyone was a winner and that GrandBoy was a champ. Out of all the strategies, what worked best? I'll find out and let you know.

Funny thing about toddlers. They are portable. Sort of. With a lot of strategic planning.

Homemade Squishiness

One of our more popular endeavors last week was the creation of "gak." I got the recipe from Pinterest. It was so easy - a couple of bottles of Elmer's glue, a little water, a little Borax, and some food coloring - and provided lots of squishy fun.

The texture is smooth and cold. It's shiny but not slimy, though if you leave it lying around, it tends to expand and grow, like something out of a bad 1950's horror film. But it's easy to pick up in one big lump - like a huge pile of Silly Putty.

Liam's favorite thing to do with it is to plant both feet firmly in the middle of the goo, then look at his footprints. The prints don't stick around very long, as the gak reforms fairly quickly. We also had fun with gak racing. We each hold up a string of the goop and see which thread hit the table first.

Store it in a plastic bag and it should keep forever. Future generations will marvel at the stuff.

Liam's Magic Beans

Magic in the sense that they were just regular beans from a regular seed-packet that are now growing into something edible, thanks to a little tender loving care from a GrandBoy and GrandMary.

First, we soaked some of the beans in a cup of water. Some of the beans, we scattered on a wet paper towel, then covered with another wet paper towel. We waited a few hours until the beans got wrinkly. Some of them split open. A couple even started to sprout.

Then we planted the beans in clear cups of potting soil. The clear cups let us watch the roots sprout and take hold.

There was no small amount of drama when we didn't see spouts after the first couple of days. With the fresh soil, heat, humidity, and rainfall, we were expecting to see something pop up overnight. Had we planted too many beans in one cup? I lost count of how many Liam pushed down into the dirt.

But hooray! On the fourth day the first bit of green poked through the soil. And we could see the thin white lengths of roots taking hold in each of the cups. I will admit to some over-enthusiastic watering sessions, but give a 2-year-old a watering can, and, well, you do lose control over proper hydration.

By day six, the plants were going great guns. They seemed to grow a 1/2-inch every hour. Yeah!

It was easy to see the plants were outgrowing their small, clear cups, and it was time to transplant the tender shoots to larger pots. So we emptied our little cups into terracotta planters, where their roots could spread and the beans could grow properly. We also planted the bean seeds that hadn't sprouted. Hey, you never know.

So now we wait. Wait for the flower and the fruit. We'll keep you posted on the progress. Liam takes great pride in his beans. Looks like he has his father's green thumb.

Magic doesn't have to mean supernatural. Most often, I find, magic is in the common and ordinary. Like a few dry beans that turn into green plants and more magic beans. What a wonder!

So Many Ideas, So Little Time

I haven't seen GrandBoy in almost three months, so I'll be traveling down to Atlanta in ten days to spend a week reconnecting. Since I last saw him, I've added Pinterest to my social media skills and have a board just for GrandMary Goodies. This is where I stick all the fabulous, fun, creative ideas other folks have dreamed up that I think Liam would enjoy.  The problem is, there are way more pins on the GrandMary Goodies board that I will ever be able to put to use.

At the risk of over-planning, over-thinking, and over-scheduling ways for us to spend our play time, I'm culling through my board pins to choose just a handful of things that will make us giggle, give us some exercise, get our hands dirty, or all of the above. So, let's see. Where to start?

Do we cook up slime, galaxy playdough, or a variety of recipes for disaster? I see some real possibilities there. Bet I could find lots of fun stuff in this free, downloadable Summer Fun book, with activities suitable for toddlers. But are the activities suitable for GrandMarys?

I'm not afraid of a little (or a lot) of water, and neither is GrandBoy, so perhaps we move the fun outside. Maybe rig up this water spray made out of a 2-litre plastic bottle. Or stock up on balloons for a little water balloon action. We both love-love-love sidewalk chalk, so maybe one or two games using the chalk will be fun. Or a messy outdoor art project. Note to self: use the water spray to clean up after the messy art project.

Of course, there are always old fashioned activities, like catching lightning bugs, collecting rocks/leaves/sticks on a nature walk, throwing/catching/chasing a ball around the yard, and eating popsicles on the front steps. We'll need time to dance around a while and whizz cars and trucks down the hallway. Whatever we do must revolve around mealtimes and naptimes - for both of us.

Whatever happens, we'll have fun. Whether we make things that fizz and glow, or spray water, or spin around, we'll have fun. And we'll really deserve our meals and naps after all that!

Staying Cool, Kid-Style

Children can find plenty of ways to stay cool in the summertime heat if adults will just get out of their way. All that’s needed is a water source, something cold to drink, and maybe knowing where your mama keeps her change purse.

As hard as it is for me to admit, I had an air-conditionless existence until I was maybe 6 or 7 years old. That’s right. When I was very young, a Southern summer childhood was at the mercy of an electric fan and the sheer benevolence of an adult willing to plug the thing in, turn it on, and let it blow on you. Yeah, a whole line of iffy situations. Seems we got the use of the fan at naptime, after we had a bellyful of Campbell’s vegetable soup, a tomato sandwich, and Hi-C orange drink, just as added nap-insurance. Beyond that, a little kid had to fight for fan frontage time.

Fortunately, mamas liked their kids to play outside - whatever the temperature - so if we got permission (and sometimes if we didn’t), we could turn on the outdoor spigot and play in the hose. As long as you didn’t get knocked in the teeth with the metal nozzle or get water sprayed straight up your nose, a good time could be had by all. Holding the hose straight up made an instant shower. Coiling it up, then then letting it go, caused all sorts of unpredictable sprays, twists, and turns. Oooh, the water snake!

Eventually, we graduated to a super-deluxe backyard pool. By super-deluxe, I mean a sparkling aqua-colored plastic sheet draped over a 2-foot high white fence-type thing. The bottom had a diamond design of black, blue, and white. It took forever to fill  the thing up, but I’m telling you, nothing Esther Williams ever had was a fine as our beautiful blue pool. It seemed huge at the time; I’m sure it would be laughable now. But water and kids and sun can co-mingle for long time, and we were very happy little campers. I don’t remember Mother watching us – she was inside doing whatever mothers do. Yes. Pure child endangerment/neglect. Thank God.

Still, there’s more to staying cool than water-immersion. That’s where Kool-Aid and Fizzies came in. Seems like they were always in plentiful supply – a little goes a long way for a kid – so we’d sit in a swing or on the picnic table and have our treat. Anyway, those purple and orange Kool-Aid moustaches washed off after a few minutes in our sparkling backyard pool.

Sometimes, though, in late afternoon/early evening we’d hear that glorious sound – the bells or music of the Hunky Man (that’s what we called the truck that came around with popsicles, push-ups, and nutty-buddies). Chaos ensued, as some of us   waved him down, while others ran inside to plead for enough dimes to cover the charge for our confections. The perfect way for a kid to stay cool on a summer afternoon.

So think back on how you liked to cool off in the summer when you were little, and share that with the little ones in your life. Even if you have a real, in-the-ground Esther Williams swimming pool, break out the garden hose or sprinkler sometime. Just don’t let the nozzle hit you in the teeth. And remember to wash off your purple Kool-Aid moustache.

The Field Guide to Good Grandparenting

Everything I know about being a grandparent came from observing two of the best in their natural habitat. My mother and daddy loved being grandparents, to the point of barely acknowledging their own children once those children produced off-spring. They cooed and baby-talked and cuddled and kissed the wee ones, read to and over-fed the toddlers, and spoiled rotten the children/teens/young adults from there on out. 

I studied their grandparenting skills as one would study animals in the wild because the experience I had with my own grandparents was not at all what my daughter experienced with Mother and Daddy. I’m guessing it was a generational thing.

For whatever reason my grandparents weren’t very touchy-feely. I loved them, and they loved me (I assume), but I don’t remember spending much, if any, time alone with them. They lived elsewhere, and the rest of the family were always around. Some hugging, maybe a kiss on the cheek, a little small talk, then back to the business at hand – cooking, adult-talking, farm chores, whatever. We could tag along or not, but none of this centered on us.

My parents, however, had a completely different relationship with their grandchildren. We all lived within a half-hour’s driving distance and could foster up-close-and-personal relationships between grandkids and grandparents. Lots of visits. Lots of overnight visits, even when the kids were very small. Special events. Not-so-special events. Chill-out time. Always filled with many, many hugs, kisses, and cuddles. They knew their voices and temperaments. They were comfortable with each other.

I mean, just look at that picture. Grandpa reading to a lap-full of his little grandchildren. They're all settled in, paying attention, feeling the love.

Both Daddy and Mother pulled out all the love-stops where their grandchildren were concerned. And it didn't take a genius to figure out their grandparenting blueprint. It was all about always showing grandkids how much they were loved, paying attention to little things, and being generous with their hugs and time. (OK, and slipping the kids some spendable green stuff when they got older.) Wash. Rinse. Repeat.

That's pretty much all you need to know about how to be a grandparent. I know. Because I got to study two of the best for years.

Members of the Same Club

Want a sure-fire way to get GrandBoy up and dancing around the room? Find Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on-demand and wait for the Hot Dog song finale. Once Mickey and crew start flapping their arms and kicking their legs, it's hard for a little guy (or his GrandMary) to sit still. And, boy, does that Hot Diggity Dog song stick in your mind! That tune, plus Minnie's little prissy dance. So we sing and dance (more like Goofy than Minnie) and wear ourselves out trying to keep up with the Clubhouse gang.

Now, believe it or not, GrandBoy and GrandMary belong to the same club. Which club, you ask? Why, the Mickey Mouse Club, of course. It's just that the club is a little different from the one I joined as a child. First of all, they've invented color since the original Mouseketeers came on the scene in the 1950s. (OK, not color, but color TV.) And the clubhouse is way cooler now, thanks to computer animation and whiz-bang technology. I wish my living room would rotate out to reveal a great kitchen. Ah, well.

Also, they've ditched the Mouseketeers altogether. 'Nary a one in sight. There were a couple of iterations in the 70's and 90's - and, yes, I know that Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears, and Christina Whats-Her-Name were the most recent wearers of mouse-ears (did they wear ears?) - but none compared to Annette and crew. I'm thinking Disney felt the same, so gone are real live Mouseketeer kids. Mickey, Donald, Minnie, Daisy, Goofy, and Pluto run the show now.

But never mind. When GrandBoy calls out for Mouse, it's clear he's a card-carrying Mickey Mouse Club Member, just like I was. Am. So I happily join in the Hot Dog Song and dance. 

Still, I do miss the Mickey Mouse Club "alma mater" that ended the original show. So serious. Pledging our loyalty to the Mouse and each other. No wonder I'm still a member. Hot dog!

Down on the Farm

A trip to the family farm in Henrietta, Tennessee, last weekend gave GrandBoy his first taste of a real farm. It was cold and windy, so visions of young Liam running barefoot through green fields were quickly squashed, but he didn't seem to mind the weather.

In his bright yellow slicker, he got to see real cows and horses, get an up-close look at tractors old and new, experience the joys of tossing rocks in a puddle (endless fun, by the way), and experience a freedom to roam around wide-open spaces and explore things like haystacks and unfamiliar porch steps.

GrandBoy also got to test out his "mooing" skills with a herd of Black Angus cattle. He learned that, yes, cows actually do moo, as he engaged in human/bovine conversations and stare-downs with cows and their calves. Moooooooo!

He saw his first real red barn and scarecrow, which was guarding a newly-planted field. He learned how to shoot a water pistol and see the effect of strong wind blowing bubbles through a bubble wand (no human-blowing needed).

There was an endless supply of uncles willing to toss a ball or hoist him up to look over a fence. An equally endless supply of aunts (as well as his mama and GrandMary) kept a close eye and made sure he was warm, dry, fed, and hugged. In other words, he was joyfully spoiled.

So now the go-to guy for the correct tone of cow-mooing, best rocks for puddle-tossing, and most efficient way to run through a field is GrandBoy. In case you were wondering.

You Just Call Out My Name

"Gramee-ee!" Yes, finally. GrandBoy's calling for his GrandMary. He's got the "Grand" part down and just needs a little more work on the "Mary," but he's almost there. He used my name repeatedly when I was in Atlanta a couple of weeks ago. It does an old lady's heart good to hear a hearty little voice call from downstairs "Gramee-ee!"

Add to that his sweet little hugs that include patting me on the back and, well, the whole package is irresistible. That wonderful little 2-year-old package.

Sure, it's work trying to get to toddler to understand why sharing is good and throwing sand is bad. And goodness knows, trying to keep up with the little tyke is almost impossible. But getting to witness daily - make that hourly -  discoveries and milestones is worth all the exhaustion.

A hug. A few little pats on the back. A toddler kiss. And calling out my name - "Gramee-ee!" The daily delights of a grandmother. 

My Two Favorite Leprechauns

Happy St. Patrick's Day, everyone!

As The Toddler Turns

A couple of weeks ago, Daughter shared a delightful little video of Son-in-Law spinning GrandBoy around in the park. Now, we all know the consequences of whirling, twirling, spinning, especially for someone little and low to the ground. Total discombobulation.

Remember what a wonderful feeling it was to spin and spin, becoming light-headed, brain-scrambled, wonky-eyed and finally collapsing on the ground to let everything settle down? And how fast you wanted  to get up and do it again?  And remember what the adult(s) present would warn? Don't do that, or you'll make yourself "drunk." Bad warning, adults. If this is what it feels like to be drunk, then I want more!

I figure as long as I was in a good clear space, with no danger of hitting my head on a table or a rock, spinning around until I made myself drunk was a pretty harmless form of entertainment. Of course, these days I guess you have to make sure the little tyke is wearing a protective helmet of some kind, plus knee- and elbow-pads. Naturally, all that protection will seriously cut down on speed of spin, wind resistance, and trajectory, but we had no such worries. We were only limited by the space around us and the speed at which our little legs and arms could launch and maintain a good twirl.

Ah, spin-drunk. Such bliss! Such a feeling of well-being! Like being tickled from the inside out. Free. No need for batteries, wires, or joy-sticks. Plus, no nasty hang-over headaches afterwards. I love watching GrandBoy enjoy his first spin-drunk experience - the staggers, the false attempts at trying to stand and walk. Fun for him and a delight for anyone watching.

Alas, it's the kind of thing that age, height, and weight bring to an end. In fact, it's the kind of thing GrandMarys try to avoid at all cost in order to keep the bones in one piece. But watching GrandBoy enjoy the feel-good experience of being spin-drunk brings back wonderful, carefree memories of my spin-drunk days. Spin on, young man. Spin on.

Happy Second Birthday!

Happy Birthday, dear Liam! You've brought your GrandMary enormous joy over the past two years. You're a jolly, active, loving, smart, inquisitive little boy, and I love you beyond all measure. I look forward to watching you grow and laugh and learn for years to come. Happy, Happy Birthday!

What a 2-Year-Old Doesn't Know

Having just spent a week fully in charge of GrandBoy as his parents took a much needed vacation, I was constantly reminded of how much a 2-year-old knows. Things like complicated words and concepts, adult manipulation techniques, rapid escape maneuvers are easy breezy. But as smart as the little dickens is, I discovered a few things that a 2-year-old doesn't know, and I'm happy to share the knowledge.

1. A 2-year-old doesn't know that a GrandMary can't get up and down as quickly as a 2-year-old. There's just not as much juice in the joints and not built as close to the ground. This frustrates a 2-year-old. And a 60-year-old.
2. A 2-year-old doesn't know that his GrandMary lives in Spanish Harlem, a mere five stories above a busy street and the Metro North commuter train line. Noise does not phase her. All the whining and tantrum-tossing in the world is just so much white noise. This frustrates a 2-year-old. It does not frustrate a 60-year-old (who lives in Spanish Harlem).
3. A 2-year-old doesn't understand the difference between shampoo and real poo. A 2-year-old certainly knows about poo (and isn't afraid to let you know it). But the word "shampoo" is confusing to him, especially when GrandMary wants to put it on his head. All he hears is "poo." And not even a 2-year-old wants poo in his hair.

Other than that, a 2-year-old pretty much knows everything a 60-year-old knows. And until the shampoo situation sorts itself out, I'll just call it soap. Nobody wants poo in their hair.

Heartbreaker

This picture of GrandBoy is tacked up next to my desk at work. It's a proof of one of his preschool pictures. Daughter told me they weren't expecting the photo, thinking school pictures had been taken mid-week, and GrandBoy is in preschool on Mondays and Fridays. But a photographer was there and a GrandBoy got to shine.

So here he is, crazy monkey hair going every which way, wearing his dinosaur shirt. I love the way his little mouth is drawn up, ready to explode with a belly-laugh. I love the mischievous twinkle in his eyes and the way he's tentatively holding the side of his seat.

Whenever I glance over at the picture, it makes me smile. But there's also something sweetly heartbreaking about the expression on his face. I just want to pick him up and give him a big hug. The picture makes me happy, but it also reminds me of how much I miss the little guy.

Silly GrandMary

Just because it makes me smile. Just because I love the little dimple next to GrandBoy's mouth. Just because making silly faces is what GrandMarys do.

FutureHope

I have great hope for the future. I have to. With a daughter and son-in-law and GrandBoy who will be living out their days long after I'm gone (God willing), how can the future be anything but hope-filled? Nieces and nephews, cousins and second cousins, and all their daughters and sons are growing and thriving, learning and working, all for better lives and a better world.

Yes, I know things seem mean, greedy, and soulless much of the time. Relentless news about wars and uprisings, elections and in-fighting, protests and unemployment have us screaming at each other rather than listening, finding solutions, and compromising. I understand why folks voice so much doubt about the future.

But we've heard it all before. Any student of history knows that people throughout the ages have thought the world is on the fast-track to Hell. It's nothing new. The only thing that is new is that despair and pessimism spews forth at the click of a keyboard or remote control. We're inundated with doom and gloom 24/7.

However, do not tell me there is no bright future in store for us, our children, grandchildren, and beyond. I will not hear of it.

Every generation does a lot of things right and a lot of things wrong. Every generation. It's no use pitting one against another. We're all in this together, across a continuum of time, relationship, and understanding. We can only do what every group of people has done since the dawn of time. Move things forward as best we can.

Perhaps we should think before we speak or type a snippy comment. Can we turn down the volume of hate? Stop siding with folks who only want to scream and stomp their feet, and start working toward listening and sorting things out together? None of us has the whole picture. None of us has all the answers.

The future is too important. It must be full of hope and promise. Just look at all these sweet new children. The future is gloriously brilliant. Now, live like it!

Why Santa Needs Elves

Because some - and often, most - assembly is required. I guess some elves are toy-makers, who craft their wares in 14,000 pieces that must be put together with allen wrenches (yuck!) and 35,002 screws, and some elves are the putter-togetherers, who have to take those 14,000 bits and assemble them into something recognizable that a kid would want to play with.

How did I come to this realization? Well, I watched as a couple of earthly elves fashioned an incredible train table out of a gazillion pieces and a 250-page instruction booklet. OK. I exaggerate, but not by much. Witness the process and results:

Elves, disguised as parents, employ their best carpentry skills in the race to have the train table ready by Christmas morn.

Hm. Does this thing look like the picture?

I need 2 E tracks and a B. Or is it 2 B tracks and an E?

Pay-off for the 2-hour assembly process: one thrilled little feller!

Here's hoping your Christmas involved both toy-makers and assemblers. Merry Christmas to all!

World's Rarest Christmas Ornaments

At the risk of having hordes of people turn up outside our door hoping to delight in these wonderful objects, I must announce that we are in possession of the world's rarest hand-made Christmas ornaments. Yes, it's true. And when you consider the cost of the care and feeding of the baubles' creator, well, they're probably the most expensive ornaments in the world, too.

Each and every ornament is hand-made (and I do mean, hand-made) by the one and only . . . GrandBoy. He has spent hours of precious pre-school time, under the careful guidance of his patient teachers, crafting an assortment of keepsake decorations that Hallmark could only hope to achieve. It has taken the laser-like concentration that only a 20-month-old can summon up to turn out his one-of-a-kind angel, stocking, wreath, tree, and reindeer.

No need for diamonds, gold, silver, or delicate blown glass. No. What's needed is an assortment of paper plates, construction paper, glue, glitter, finger paint, and, of course, little fingers. I never imagined hand-prints could be so versatile - everything from reindeer antlers to holly leaves.

Sorry, folks. He only made one of each. Rare, indeed. Priceless. Don't even bother calling us, Sotheby's. These will never hit the auction block.

We might consider tours next year. But they're all ours this Christmas.

Spoiled

Nobody likes a spoiled brat. Children should not get every toy and whimsy they fancy. I think we're all agreed on that. So for a grandparent it takes great restraint always, but especially at this time of year, to keep from picking up everything little (and big) that might bring even a moment's delight to the little tykes.

The truth is that if GrandBoy didn't get any new toys for the next two years, he'd have enough stuff to play with all the live-long day. But it's taking all of our willpower - and by "our" I'm including his mama and daddy - to resist picking up a few more little Thomas the Tank Engine train cars at the store or ordering everything that hums, honks, dings, and whistles online. The urge is overpowering. "Oh, he would love this!" and "I'd love to see his face when he opens that!" Is there a 12-step program for this?

The good news is that I haven't given in to these urges to purchase everything in sight for GrandBoy. Much. I chose one item off the gift wish list, found the absolute most perfect winter hat for him at the Grand Central Holiday Fair, and bought him a couple of books. Well, more than a couple of books; the stack seems to grow daily. (But books aren't toys, are they? Can you spoil a child with too many books? Help me out here, grandparents.)

Oh, yeah. And a friend was going to Hess to pick up a truck for her grandchildren. Did I want one for Liam? Of course, I did. I mean, the annual Hess truck is iconic, right? He needs one of those. Really. It lights up and makes noise and everything. Just made for my GrandBoy. So add that to the list.

I'm beginning to think that finding delightful things for our grandchildren has more to do with spoiling us than them. Is it completely selfish to want to see that first little flicker of surprise, then the smiles, and the play that follows when a gift is well-received? It's not the thing itself, it's the reaction and the way it's treated and used, that we wait for. Selfishly. OK. Maybe it is a little selfish. Maybe we're the spoiled brats, not the kids.

In the spirit of the season - and with every ounce of self-control that I can muster (thank goodness for limited discretionary spending) - I'm trying my best not to become a spoiled GrandMaryBrat. But that goal may be hard to achieve, since I do not need a reaction to a gift to spoil me. Every smile, string of jibber-jabber, plane-spotting, YoGabbaGabba dance, sleepy bed-head hug from GrandBoy spoils me beyond imagination. Perhaps I should just sit back and enjoy being spoiled for a while.

And maybe I'll save the Hess truck for GrandBoy's birthday.