Communication between a grandparent and a grandchild should be added to the 7 Wonders of the World. Those of you lucky enough to experience this know what I am talking about. There are so many variables - gender and age, of course; the unique personality of the child, to say nothing of that of the grandparent; the location of the discussion, how tired everyone is, the hunger factor, the phase of the moon.....well you get the idea.
On the one side is our 2 granddaughters, Love Monster (LM), who just turned 12 and Smirker, 9. LM is now in middle school and her world seems to have broadened considerably. She is becoming more mature and independent. She can be a little moody but then again, what pre-teen (or septuagenarian grandpa) isn’t! She enjoys her alone time but is still very much like her nickname. I particularly relished our before bedtime cuddled up reading to her “The Key To Extraordinary” - although she is very capable of reading it by herself!
Smirker is squarely in between the world of early elementary days and middle school. Still sheltered in some ways but “all-knowing” in others. It is such a sweet mix. She likes playing with her friends in the school yard and then just as quickly loves going with Napa and Nama to the local coffee shop for a smoothie or with Nama and her Mom to get her nails done. Her love of music strikes a chord with me. Although I am not really into hip hop or pop so much, i could listen to her all day singing every word of every song on KIIS FM from the back seat of the car. (Well maybe not all day - it feels like they play the same 6 songs on a rotating basis.)
As they get older, they do become a little more standoffish, but that’s because they are growing into their world more and more each day. And I don’t mind. It’s wonderful seeing them find their way. While we don’t get to see them as regularly as we would like, seeing them for 2 months in the winter allows us to catch up quickly.
Then there are Astro Boy (AKA Superman) and Bowser (AKA Slime, AKA Batman, AKA Ball Boy). Boys are so different from girls.
Astro Boy (newly penned because of his continuing love of space), is now 8 and still a boy but maturing as well. He has a sweet and caring nature, can be a little wild at times (he’s 8!), is a wiz with numbers and he loves to read and swim. He has always had an interest in space. he was an astronaut one Halloween and he always looked for books on the universe, planets and black holes at the library. He’s also a big fan of dinosaurs (thank you Jurassic Park!).
Bowser (because he loves the world of Mario and Luigi) is now 6. He is very outgoing and quite the comedian. He still likes to cuddle but every now and then has a little devil inside - like pushing his big brother’s buttons - like that is unique. He is very competitive. I think it’s because he looks up to his brother. He likes to dance and play the piano (taking lessons for both). And, yes, like all kids these days, loves his video games, as does his brother.
One thing the boys have in common is their love to talk, particularly, Astro Boy. Oh...my....gosh! Once he gets on a topic there is no stopping the flow of facts (from his point of view), observations and questions. It is the 8th wonder of the world (according to Papa). There is a wonder in his quest to cover a subject from his 8 year old perspective. Which brings me to a recent car ride after school on the way to our house. His Dad primed the pump over breakfast before school by showing the boys the first picture of a black hole that created much interest in the news.I happened to show this picture to him again right before we got in the car and he was off and running. For the entire 30 minute ride to our house he was like a human volcanic eruption regarding black holes. One point ran into the next and to the next like the steady and uninterrupted flow of lava. He was loud and excited and truly in wonder of the existence of such a phenomenon. “How big is a black hole? I think a million suns fit into black hole. Did you know it is a billion trillion light years from us? If i stood next to it, I would be sucked in and would just keep falling and falling. My legs would be really long. Our universe could fit into that black hole. How is that possible? Makes my head hurt. I would love to get up next to one. Do you know there are a million black holes in space? And no light can come out of them, did you know that?”
Some relatively close facts but others.....well hyperbole ran amok! We couldn’t get a word in edgewise and Bowser just sat back in awe of his brother.
As we approached our house Astro Boy stopped talking and with a deep breath said:
“I have no more information!”
And then there was silence.
He had given us all he had.
For the moment.
