An Art Show

Between snow storms, we attended an art show for Delaware Charter Schools, one of which is the school our eight-year-old granddaughter attends. It is astounding to see the variety and quality of works produced by student artists.

 

A shark vacuum.

I am encouraged to see that the schools continue working with students in this area along with the basic academic programs. Kids greatly benefit from the time they spend on these projects and learn incredible lifetime skills. It is all too easy to cut the arts programs first when school budgets falter, but it is at great expense to the future of students. Art shows give the kids an opportunity to show their work, but also to build greater support for the concept of learning through art.

Man on a snail climbs a mushroom.

Our granddaughter is in 3rd grade and she had three entries in the art show.  It was a large exhibition of student art work and I took a few pictures of some of it. The students were very proud of their efforts, the show was well-attended, and everyone was very supportive of their works. I wish I had taken more photos. We were caught up in the moment and enjoying it with our family.

 

When our grandchildren visit, we work on projects like mobiles, sock puppets, pinwheels and paper airplanes. They like to paint, but creating simulations of rocket ships or dioramas are more interesting to them. People learn in different ways and the arts give kids many choices to develop their creativity. We enjoy the time spent working on projects and talking about them. It is a great way to spend time with our grandchildren. Recently, my granddaughter and I created this aquarium diorama.

Rejects

In January, 2012, I wrote an entry called "Doors Unopened" and I find it still applies today. I reject posting a great many ideas that come to mind for various reasons.  So here is a list of the current rejects:

I won't write about the following subjects unless I get some great inspirations or queries to hear more about--

--My December cruise was outstanding. I'm a big fan of cruises and I could write endlessly about the things I enjoy about them. We meet legions of interesting people and see great places. We always take several Gigs of photos. People who love to cruise have those too. People who don't love to cruise don't care, or hate the whole concept. I could live on a ship and never get bored.




--My holiday with my family and grandchildren was superb. I never tire of talking to my grandchildren who are extra special to me. They light our lives in a million ways and I will always enjoy time spent with them. I think it is a great unspoken compliment to their parents that they can share their greatest contribution to the world with us. I think they can feel successful and accomplished as adults when they can leave the grandchildren to visit with us while they take some time off.

--The holiday display presented annually by Longwood Gardens always tops their previous efforts and makes the holidays extra special to set the stage for our celebrations. It too, produces tons of photos.

--The Terabyte hard drive that I needed to add to my desktop to store travel photos can be summed up in this sentence and one word--necessary.

--My new gym makes me feel good and gives my days structure. It centers me like nothing else.

--Religion and politics are still on my reject list. I just don't go there. People think what they think without my input. My opinions are in stone and I don't need to argue with anyone.

--My frustration with my constant quest to find "mature" slacks and workout pants will be restrained. See previous angst-- Venting on Vetting Jeans

--The number of books I read is numerous and anyone who wants to read book reviews can check Amazon. I try to keep up to date with a number of my favorite fiction authors and their current offerings such as John Grisham, Stuart Woods, Vince Flynn, Lee Child, Tess Gerritson and others. I'm too busy reading to write yet another review. Kudos to the public library, without whom I would go broke feeding my reading addiction.

The subject that I do find noteworthy is that of a gift that I received this year. I have a new Nook  which is most interesting. Never having felt the need of an e-reader, I find that it has been a revelation. I thoroughly enjoy reading books with it and find that I can use the wireless connection to my local public library and check out epub books to my Nook without leaving my easy chair. When I finish reading it, I can return it wirelessly to the public library and delete it from my Nook. It automatically expires in 14 days so there are no overdue fees. It can store books, magazines, newspapers, music, photos, movies, and games like Sudoku and crossword puzzles. So I will have to load it with entertainment before I travel again. 

I can purchase any number of things from Barnes and Noble online with their web connection as well as surf the web and check my e-mail. It is such a handy little toy that I never knew I needed. New paradigm.

Play

As I spend time with my grandchildren, I like to watch their development and skills that they acquire through their play. My grandson says it best when he says, "I do it myself." They like us to watch and encourage and talk to them but they want to be in charge. That important journey toward independence can be observed on the playground. As they fearlessly jump on the equipment and venture forth into a new experience, their fearless, optimistic outlook on the outcome is taken for granted to be one that they will like. 

They like to be cheered for their efforts, but the adults have to take care not to take away their open acceptance of a little daring. If the adults only give precautions when absolutely necessary, their self confidence is reinforced. We try not to interfere unless something is obviously dangerous. They quickly figure out the connection between actions and consequences. 

Problem solving skills are greatly developed as they get to figure out how to get something to function as they desire whether it is getting on a new playground toy, repairing a toy, or reading on a Nook. My grandson is in a jigsaw puzzle phase so he puts together one after another. He likes to show me how they go together, but my help or suggestions are not welcome--"I do it myself," he says. When a toy stops working, he races to the pantry to get the battery box to replace the battery. 

My granddaughter loves her books and the American Girl catalog. With her birthday coming up, she has a shopping list. I don't read books to her because she wants to read to me. I love listening to her reading her books and sounding out the new words. I can't remember a specific phrase that she often uses but I will always remember her brother's "I do it myself." It reminds me of my dad's often used phrase, "You think about it." 

I like seeing how confident they have become through the freedom they have been given to explore their abilities. They exist in a little protective cocoon of which they are very unaware. They are surrounded by watchful adults with structure without excessive supervision. They have been trained to clean up the toys at regular intervals--before a meal, before leaving to go home, before going to bed and they do a really good job of understanding the concept of neat, organized toys on shelves. They thrive on the structure of knowing the reliable expectations. I'm always eager to see their latest achievements each time I visit with them.

Caution: Grandchildren at Work

When my daughter-in-law brought my grandchildren to visit Nana and Papa yesterday, I asked her what they should have for dinner thinking pizza or kid's meals at McDonald's. My six-year old granddaughter pipes up that she has been "hankering" for split pea soup. I knew I had all of the ingredients so I decided I would have the kids help me make it. She said my three-year-old grandson liked the carrots and would eat it. So that was settled. I had planned to make toasted garlic bread and sprinkle parm on top because they like that. My charming little lady also said she liked to dip it in olive oil so I put it on the dinner table and she enjoyed dipping the bread like grownups. She has been learning some very healthy eating habits at home. They do interesting presentations of food to keep the kids eating healthy stuff even though they sometimes get chicken nuggets and pizza. A sandwich cut into shapes tastes so much better.

 

I set two step stools in front of the stove while it was turned off. I had both children putting stuff into the big pot to make the split pea soup. I chopped the veggies and put peas, celery, carrots, onions, ham and water in measuring cups so they could pour the ingredients into the pot. They took turns stirring it before I turned on the stove. I let them shake salt and pepper into it and that was a big hit. They argued over whose turn it was to stir and we managed to share that without too much conflict. I like to break a task into manageable steps so that the little ones can feel successful.The little guy would stir with the big spoon and pull it up to find that a split pea had stuck to it. I told him not to touch it with his hands while cooking, but to bang the spoon handle on the pot side to dislodge the pea back into the soup. That was appealing, so he would stir and pound the spoon on the side of the pot. It was hysterical to watch a three-year-old "cooking". 

Papa was filming this on his camera so we have a 9 minute video of the whole process. When they poured the ingredients from  the measuring cup into the pot, pieces of carrots, or celery would not fall out, so I showed them how to turn the cup upside down and bang the side with their fist to dislodge the pieces into the soup. They liked that method more than using a spoon to pull out remaining pieces.  I like to make sure they wash their hands before cooking, but I also like to show them the sanitary routines necessary to handle food. Of course, they were more willing to eat the soup because they had made it. It takes a bunch of patience to teach little kids to cook, but they can do the task and love trying. While the soup was cooking, I would go back to it at times to keep it stirred, but I don't let them near the hot stove.

 

To pass the time, My granddaughter and I sat at the dining room table with some sheets I had printed from NickJr before she arrived. She colored pictures of the sun, moon, and stars with either crayons or markers. She carefully cut them out with scissors and punched a little hole in each with my heart-shaped hole punch. I would push a string through the hole, and tape it to the back. Then she would put colorful stickers over the back. We cut the strings into different lengths, and tied them to two straws that I had taped into an X shape. We made a mobile from the pictures and hung the structure on the bottom of a clear coat hanger.  We put it over a door to hang on the top of the door frame. They got such a kick out of looking at the mobile we had made. It took most of the afternoon for the process while the soup cooked. We had never tried to make a mobile before. The process seemed to be an interesting possibility as I was printing the coloring sheets for her so I decided to see if we could pull it off. She was very enthusiastic and proud about it, and took it home with her.

 

Meanwhile, my grandson was running about collecting anything he could find that he wanted to play with in kitchen drawers, and in cabinets. My kitchen drawers aren't junk drawers, they are treasure drawers filled with interesting gadgets to appeal to a three-year-old imagination. He found piles of keys attached to various key mechanisms which he managed to connect together. He did this by himself and wound up with a big pile of keys that looked like those that a building supervisor would need.  He found a way to attach all of the key chains to each other and it was a really clever structure. He carried it around for the rest of the day.
 
The little guy pulled out a bunch of pots and pans which happened to have net baskets or other structures inside for various cooking purposes and he found things to put in them. He especially liked my broccoli/asparagus steamer with the big basket that lifts out and hooks on the side of the pot halfway up. Who needs toys? 

Needless to say, the house is only half recovered from the day, and so are we. I was wondering earlier in the week what we were going to do with them for such a long time. Their imaginations  kept them very busy during the entire visit.We spent most of the time at the dining room table with activities, so the rug has pieces of paper that I will need to  vacuum. My granddaughter picked up most of the big pieces and has become very proficient at organizing and cleaning up things. She tells me my kitchen desk should be organized--"It's messy," she says.

I treasure the hours spent watching the grandchildren explore and learn. Viewing their discoveries through the eyes of age and experience makes me feel young again. I need to get busy looking for something new to amuse them on their next visit.

Playdate

We had an early Christmas present yesterday. Our three-year-old grandson came to visit for the day while Mom and Dad went to lunch and a movie. The young man has a passion for making networks with cables he finds in Papa's office and in mine too. His dad and grandfather work with computers a lot when they are here. He thinks this is great family fun, so he takes old coils of Cat 5 cables and a hub box, strings them all together, plugs them together and plugs the hub into the electrical socket. A little green light comes on and he cheers like he has built the empire state building. Mr. M. has had to learn the difference between a phone cable and a computer cable because the end looks the same but there is a slight difference in size. He connects the phone cables to several old princess phones that we have, then he shows us how all of it works together. What a scream. He had cords all over the family room floor yesterday and we just watched and shook our heads. It was so funny. He wants to be a networking expert. Now I have to recoil all of the cables and put them into a box in my office because he will do it all over again next time they visit. Whatever floats his boat is fine with us. What's WiFi?

He likes to clean out the kitchen cabinet of anything that looks interesting. Yesterday, he took out a container with little cups for poaching eggs. The whole thing goes together with a big dutch oven I have and he spent hours playing with it. He went upstairs to get my container of buttons and put them in the five ramekins, then he removed them and replaced them with Scrabble tiles. We are always laughing about how he finds the weird stuff around the house to be great toys. He didn't spend much time on real toys yesterday.

Mr. M. spent a lot of time bringing us books to read to him. He prefers the interactive ones that have popups and little flaps that he can open. He knows the entire story and if you skip a part of something on the page, he insists that you say that the mouse is in the closet, or whatever. He knows the whole story but loves to open the flaps. How many kids have two adults all to himself for an entire day? He is so overjoyed when he gets here. He rips off his shoes, waves goodbye to his mom and dad and races into the family room. He is eager to get to his special day. They look at each other and say, "Who are we, nobody?" We all laugh that he is so excited.

This young man is the master of the movable feast. Yesterday, he ate a banana, two little bowls of cereal, four chicken nuggets, two pieces of pineapple, and four Oreos--all over the house. He takes them in small plastic containers so he can eat while he plays. He has no patience with sitting at a table to eat--that's boring. He knows there is stuff to play with while he chews. It takes too long to eat to sit with idle hands at a table. Nana and Papa are very indulgent. He's not ready for a restaurant. We'll have to try to get him to stay at the table when he gets older.

Looking for Santa

 

Last Christmas, my son's family had given us some Lindt chocolates in cute little boxes that looked like presents so I kept them with my decorations. This year, I put them into a sleigh decoration I have because they seemed to fit perfectly. When the kids visited last Sunday, my granddaughter discovered them and asked where was Santa. I told her I would look in my decorations and see if I could find one to complete the fantasy of Santa with his sleigh. I agreed that the sleigh needed a Santa. 

Later, I was in the kitchen when my three-year-old grandson came in to look at the magnets on my fridge door. He took off a new one of a Santa and showed it to me. I told him that was Santa and that he could play with it. He went into the family room and I went back to baking cookies with his sister. Soon, he came into the kitchen and hugged my legs and I reached down to hug him and say a few words to him. Then he took off to other things.

Tuesday morning, I happened to look at the fridge and wondered where he had left the Santa. I looked at the bins of toys in the family room and noticed the sleigh on the window sill where the Santa magnet was sitting with the little chocolate gift boxes. I don't know if my grandson put it there, but if he did, it explains a few of his actions. I just didn't connect the dots at the time and I thought it was really clever of him. We didn't even know he was listening to the conversation about the sleigh without a Santa and the Lindt boxes. Apparently, he is absorbing everything going on around him--little pitchers. I wish I had noticed it at the time to say something to him about finding a Santa for the sleigh. 

Tomorrow, he will be visiting with Nana and Papa while his parents go out to have lunch and see a movie and his sister is in school. I will make sure we spend some time looking at the sleigh and talking about the gift boxes and the Santa figurine.  I like to encourage the grandchildren any time I can find something they do that meets with my approval.  Everything they do is a hit with me. I wonder if other people are so enamored of their grandchildren.

They Said It Better

After spending a great Sunday playing with my two grandchildren, it is a pleasant tiredness and the knowledge of time well spent.

I can't say enough about the joys of spending time with grandchildren. They are exhausting, require great patience but give the wealth of their presence. They are one of the best experiences life has to offer.

Having grandchildren is my compensation for having missed having living grandparents.


I like to read the eloquent musings of others about grandchildren and grandparents:
 
Do you know why grandchildren are always so full of energy?  They suck it out of their grandparents.  --Gene Perret

 What a bargain grandchildren are!  I give them my loose change, and they give me a million dollars' worth of pleasure.  --Gene Perret

A grandmother is a babysitter who watches the kids instead of the television.  --Author Unknown
 
What children need most are the essentials that grandparents provide in abundance.  They give unconditional love, kindness, patience, humor, comfort, lessons in life.  And, most importantly, cookies.  --Rudolph Giuliani


A house needs a grandma in it.  --Louisa May Alcott


Our grandchildren accept us for ourselves, without rebuke or effort to change us, as no one in our entire lives has ever done, not our parents, siblings, spouses, friends - and hardly ever our own grown children.  --Ruth Goode


When a child is born, so are grandmothers.  --Judith Levy

Being grandparents sufficiently removes us from the responsibilities so that we can be friends.  --Allan Frome

When grandparents enter the door, discipline flies out the window.  --Ogden Nash


If I had known how wonderful it would be to have grandchildren, I'd have had them first.  --Lois Wyse


Grandfathers are for loving and fixing things.  --Author Unknown

The reason grandchildren and grandparents get along so well is that they have a common enemy.  --Sam Levenson

Grandchildren are God's way of compensating us for growing old.  --Mary H. Waldrip

If nothing is going well, call your grandmother.  --Italian Proverb

Grandmother-grandchild relationships are simple.  Grandmas are short on criticism and long on love.  --Author Unknown

Grandparents are there to help the child get into mischief they haven't thought of yet.  --Gene Perret

I like to do nice things for my grandchildren - like buy them those toys I've always wanted to play with.  --Gene Perret


A grandmother pretends she doesn't know who you are on Halloween. --Erma Bombeck


My grandchild has taught me what true love means.  It means watching Scooby-Doo cartoons while the basketball game is on another channel.  --Gene Perret

Nobody can do for little children what grandparents do. Grandparents sort of sprinkle stardust over the lives of little children.--Alex Haley

Elephants and grandchildren never forget.  --Andy Rooney

Making Memories

Considering that many people have grandchildren, and grandparents are more than a little proud of their own grandchildren, it seems superfluous to indulge in a little grandmotherly pride about my own two little sweethearts. I like to take pictures and videos of their antics when they visit Nana and Papa. I don't need a picture to remind me of the sight or feeling when my two-year-old grandson has to leave to go home after a day of playing with the grandparents. He is told fifteen minutes early that they have to leave soon, but when the time comes, he sits down on a rug near the front door, puts his little face into his hands and sobs. What a moment! The little tyke is so adorable. Naturally, he gets tons of hugs and promises that he can come to visit Nana and Papa again soon. He has no concept of time, but when he arrives at the front door to begin a visit, the happy grin on his face is worth its weight in gold. My grandchildren lead a charmed life and could ask no more of their environment than two doting parents and doting grandparents, but they love to visit grandma's house to play with toys different from the ones at their house. I kept many of their father's toys which they play with now. I don't know who treasures those visits more, the grandchildren, or the grandparents. It is such a special relationship between grandparents and their grandchildren.

I have fond memories of my grandson playing with a tiny wooden train given to his father by his grandma in 1976. It lives on top of the TV in the family room so when my grandson visits, he knows where to find it. The little cars are connected by hooks and one came apart from the others as he played with it. I told him to get Papa to fix it for him so they went to my office to get the computer repair tools and they fixed it with the pliers. They put the tools back into the zippered case, closed it, and returned it to the shelf where it stays. Later that day, another car released, so he took the train back to my office, took down the tool case and pretended to repair it. It was more than his tiny fingers could manage, but he knows when he gets frustrated with something that Papa can fix it. 

 

Both my grandson and my five-year-old granddaughter like to play "office." When they visit, both can be found in different rooms in front of computers with a telephone(old portables they play with), their pencils, writing pads, and their cups of water. They take notes, answer the phone and play with the computer. Then they sip the water, take a deep breath and give a big sigh as though they just engineered a difficult merger. My son sometimes works from home and has a toddler helper setting up shop near his desk with his own tools and the two-year-old "works" too. When they get him on the payroll too, the family is in business. My grandson will imitate anything he sees an adult doing.  My five-year-old granddaughter likes to play with my computer when she visits. She prefers to use the headphones when she plays games on nickjr.com. We sit with them at the computers and help them when they need it. They learn like little sponges and we talk about what they are doing on the sites. Letters, numbers and keyboarding come easily to toddlers with computers.

I sometimes wonder why I don't remember all of the adorable things that I'm sure my son did when he was a toddler but I was too busy to fully appreciate every time his three-year-old eyes would light up and he would throw out his arms while running to tackle my knees and exclaim "Mommie". I do remember those greetings of the days after preschool. Sometimes I pull out my photo albums to look at his youth and remember that he was just as adorable as his children. I wish I had spent more time writing about his moments to treasure. It is so easy to take the day-to-day activities with our children for granted and I am sure all of the bloggers who chronicle the early years of their children will thank themselves later when they have such detailed memories of their babies and toddlers.  

I can state without doubt that this is one of the best moments life has to offer. When my grandson has worn out from playing, I treasure these moments when I have the opportunity to sway and soothe him on my shoulder while he sleeps. I managed to stretch this session over 30 minutes while he snoozed. My arms were almost frozen in place, but I didn't  want to end it until he woke up.

 

Geeks

As I cleaned a closet, I discovered this wall hanging that I kept in my toddler's room in the late 1970's. It is by Dorothy Law Nolte, copyright 1963.  It occurs to me that if children learn what they live, in my family, it has to be computers. If we use the definition of geek to mean one who is obsessed with computers, technology and new media, that's my family.

When I attended college in the Sixties, it was easy to find the smart guys--they carried slide rules, the high tech of the era. For me, the most technology I could find at the time was a manual typewriter or a movie projector that I could thread for high school classes to watch a movie.

When I taught English, it was in the dark ages without a Xerox machine, a word processor, spread sheets, or a calculator. I only had an electric typewriter and purple ditto stencils with a straight edge razor blade for typos. When I calculated grades at the end of a marking period, my husband brought a huge calculator home from his company so I could compute student grades. When personal computers became available, it seemed like a gift from the gods--word processors, spread sheets, calculators, wow! What a concept! Find a need and fill it. 

We bought one of the first personal computers we could find, an Ace Franklin computer with a klunky DOS program to learn and a tiny memory. That was when a floppy drive really meant floppy. Many computers later, it has progressed from being a doorstop to being an antique. That antique still sits in my basement.

Over the years, we have accumulated the latest and greatest technology as we watched the computer age evolve on that rapidly accelerating technology train. Many summers, my husband, my son and I would clutter the dining room table with old computers to tear apart to repair and update the computers that I needed in my high school library. Being in charge of a high school library gave me a perfect opportunity to use all the latest technology for that field.  My dining room table has been used for computer repair more than for eating. It is no small wonder that my son's work is in computers to keep up on the cutting edge of technology.

The torch has been passed. My granddaughter received a toy computer for her second birthday, and she quickly progressed to the adult computers at her home. She likes to play with my computer when she visits and I marvel to see how little ones gravitate to computers, cell phones and digital cameras. They seem to be born with a technology gene. Now she is five and has her own real laptop with her own games, favorite web sites, passwords and the necessary jargon. She says to me, "Grandma, I will copy and paste this drawing that I did on Paint". Last week she couldn't get into her favorite web site and said, "The network is down." Dorothy Law Nolte was right, Children Learn What They Live.

Summer and Progeny

After a day with the grandchildren, we are exhausted and nothing compares to time spent with our two grandchildren.

Our delightful granddaughter just became five years old which makes me feel like Methuselah. We feel extremely fortunate considering that her first five years were a great concern to her parents and all of her family. Her arrival came with a c-section due to a breech birth and a near preemie early birth. Feeding problems were apparent early and determination and persistence by her dedicated mom got her through a very difficult time learning to nurse. She began to thrive in the early years due to breast feeding, but solid feeding problems persisted leading to feeding therapies which continued for several years.

Miss E. began walking at ten months, but speech was a long, overdue process which led to speech therapy for several years. We were very concerned that she would never speak; today, she never stops--music to our ears. After Child Find testing for preschool readiness, OT was also pursued. Today, she is getting ready for all day kindergarten next year with all developmental stages on target for her age. Cheers!! After a year in Montessori school, she's quite the little scholar. At her birthday celebration we heard a very detailed lecture on the finer points of quadrupeds. No memory problems, no speech problems. She can write her name and she has all of her skills ready for kindergarten. Many sight words are in her tool box and reading is on track.

Her energy and enthusiasm for the little things in life are contagious. When she visits my house, we walk about and look at things that she likes and talk about features of things she finds fascinating. She likes my tabletop jewelry cabinet that has little drawers and doors for storing tiny things. I found a small cabinet at a toy store that has similar features for her birthday. It was her favorite present but a close second was the sparkly shoes from Mom and Dad. The girl is wild about shoes, probably the only thing she inherited from me. 

Both Miss E. and her little brother, Mr. M., who is 19 months, are like little sponges looking for input.  Our grandson, unlike his sister, seemed to have no early problems and is eager to take on the world. His sense of adventure borders on the reckless, but he is a happy little camper who always cooperates with directions. He is so cheerful with a smile on his face and I marvel at his calm disposition. It is very rewarding to watch him in self-directed play because the wheels are turning and he seems to have a very specific task in mind when he plays. On their last visit, he awoke from a nap in another room and came to find the family. I like to sit on the floor with the kids so he came to me and curled up on my lap to cuddle for a bit--Grandma melts. Later he took a toy to Grandpa, gave it to him and said "Papa"--putting in those brownie points early. That will be Grandpa's favorite story forever.

The kids love to visit Nana and Papa and we wouldn't have it any other way. Who needs Europe, the South of France, the mountains, or the shore? The best that life has to offer is in the backyard with the grandchildren. 

Twinkles

My beautiful granddaughter who is four and a half, said to me, "Grandma, I like your earrings." To which I replied, "Thank you, you gave them to me for Christmas." She smiled and said, "I have more jewelry than you." Knowing this was a contest that I didn't want to enter, it was easy to give in, "You win." My reward was her giggles and her beautiful smile. This exchange comes from a girly girl who loves anything that sparkles so when she visits me, she also requires a visit to my jewelry case. After a long career and changing accessories every day, I accumulated too many pieces of costume jewelry which is what she finds when she plays in my jewelry case. She doesn't know that the good stuff is locked away and she will get it in my will. She is still at the stage that "more is better" so she insists on wearing five necklaces, three rings, and four bracelets. Now that I consider, I know some people who can top that. We take pictures of her modeling my jewelry, and she likes to pose like a grownup model. It makes me wonder how little girls pick up that yen for glamor. I didn't raise a girl, I raised a boy so I missed the madness for pink and the shopaholic genes. I firmly believe the love of shoes is imprinted on female DNA.

After the ceremony of playing with the jewelry, she is finished with it and takes it off. It gets in the way of other stuff she wants to do. She and I bond over jewelry, baking cookies, and a dozen other routines that she loves when she visits. We play the piano, climb the spiral stairs a few times, and Go Fish is very popular. I taught her how to play Tic Tac Toe, which I just can't bring myself to win.I have a favorite chair where I read and have a cup of tea so that is what we do in that chair. We read about Clifford and drink water from cups. Ceremonies are very important to little ones. They watch every action of adults and religiously imitate the ones they like. She liked my compact digital camera so I taught her how to use it. I am always amazed to see how children are like little sponges. When she takes pictures, I print them so she has copies and can see how she progresses to improve her technique. After practicing for several months, she takes really good pictures. This is my favorite--her own composition and idea. Holding the camera still is her greatest challenge which she solved by putting the camera on a table to take a picture of herself. I like to think of her as "twinkles" with the smile in those eyes.



When I was young, I did not have grandparents still living to visit and play with me. When becoming a grandparent, I had no prior models or "know how" in the relationship between grandparents and grandchildren. I remember one thing that I liked about a neighborhood lady when I was small. When I talked, she listened, and she always asked questions. We had conversations that made me feel important and grownup, so that was my model. When I became a parent, I read that a parent is successful if they read to a child and play ball with them. I figured it can't be that simple, but it is a good start. So as a grandparent, the relationship rule of the day is lots of attention, read, play kickball, and have conversations. A lot of baking is also in our future.

THE BEST BIRTHDAY PRESENT

Grandchildren have always been on my list of things in life that it would be nice to experience, but I don't recall wishing for grandchildren as much as I have found that I enjoy my grandchildren. When my friends began talking about how much they enjoy their grandchildren before I had grandchildren, it was easy to think, "That's nice, but I don't have any, and I don't relate to that." I wasn't envious, but I had not realized how wonderful your own grandchildren can be. I always try not to over-enthuse about the grandchildren, but some moments are treasures to remember forever.

I once said to my adult son that I don't need presents for my birthday--I only need your presence. For my last birthday, we went to dinner with our son, his wife, their four-year-old, and their one-year-old. Small children can get restless in a restaurant so we knew our time was limited. The staff rushed to serve us so we wouldn't overstay our welcome and distress their other diners. I ate quickly while my grandson munched his Cheerios and the busy day caught up with him quickly. To give Mom and Dad a quick break and a peaceful meal, I gathered up my one-year-old grandson and walked him to a quiet back corner of the restaurant. He has a habit of falling asleep on his daddy's "magic shoulder" so I wanted to chance grandma's magic shoulder. It only took a little swaying and humming to put him to sleep. There's nothing quite as neat as cuddling a sleeping infant. To hold him and to let him sleep on my shoulder was the best birthday gift I could ever have.

Lighthouses and Granddaughters

"Grandma, put down my baby brother and come play with me," said my granddaughter of the beautiful ringlets of hair. It had not occurred to me that I have such a passion for the beauty of lighthouses until my charming three-year-old granddaughter started guiding me around my house pointing out all the prints of lighthouses hanging on the walls and gathering all of the figurines of lighthouses that I have collected over the years. She didn't even spot all of the coffee table books in my collection of this obsession. I didn't realize I had gone off the deep end until she innocently began grouping them. Kids at that age do a lot of exercises in grouping similar items and observing patterns. I was thrilled to see that she was so keen about details, but anything my granddaughter does thrills me.



I have always loved the proud, regal appearance of a lighthouse--a beacon in a storm, a proclamation of safety, and a resilience as old as mankind. Any film about lighthouses will have my attention and PBS has some of the best. The architectural variety in designs of lighthouses is a constant wonder. The pictures of the ones I like most are those photographed with dramatic surf and crashing waves challenging their power to point the way. I took this picture of a very picturesque beacon called Peggy's Point Lighthouse in Nova Scotia, Canada. It is no surprise that it is one of the most photographed lighthouses in the world. Established in 1868, its history is not unlike other beautiful lighthouses in Nova Scotia. I like the interesting live view from this web cam of Peggy's Point.



I visited and photographed another favorite of mine at Barnagut Lighthouse, put into commission in 1835, in Long Beach Island, New Jersey.


As much as I am obsessed with lighthouses, it can't begin to compare with my other obsession. This little lady is my greatest obsession. What's not to love, with the pink sneakers, the pink baseball cap, the pink sunglasses, the pink Dora stroller, and the golden ringlets. Little granddaughters are even more beautiful than lighthouses. She is a treasure.