As grandparents, Ron and I are...well...not typical. I suppose there must be plenty of folks out there who are grandparents and actively raising children at the same time, but it seems like there are more of the other kind...the kind whose children are all out of the nest and who are able to spoil the grandkids. When our first grandchild was born, our own youngest child was a mere twenty months old, and was in the throes of toddlerhood. In a big way. In a way that required lots of diligence and training (for her and for us!). So, although we loved our new grandson deeply, we were quite distracted from grandparenthood by the demands of taking care of our Bekah, raising and homeschooling nine-year-old Kati, and (oh yeah) earning a living. Those were busy days!
Over these past seven-plus years however, we have learned to blaze our own grandparenting trail. So who is "typical" anyhow? We have made our own way as Papa and Gran, and have learned to embrace the things that make us "different". After all, not every child gets to go to Grandma's and play with a houseful of toys and (more importantly) a ready-made playmate! Not every child can get dirty and then dig through their aunt's clothing for something to wear home!
Last spring, we began planning Papa-and-Gran days...a day for each child (no brothers or sisters!) to spend the day with us...just that child doing something special that they would like to do. The children began to call them "Special Days"...and we hope that that's just what they are!
Here are a few pictures of our precious Gavin, enjoying his most recent Special Day.
On our way... 
...to the zoo.
Gavin wanted to go to the zoo so that he could use his bald eagle binoculars (a Christmas gift from his Daddy and Mama) to look at the animals.
On to one of Gavin's favorite restaurants!
Then to Papa and Gran's house to play.
(Papa asked Gavin if he knew how to hula hoop. He didn't.
Then fifteen minutes later, Papa saw him hooping like an old pro!)
And a parting gift to end the day.
I wonder who enjoys Special Days more—the children, or Papa and Gran?
Gavin was disappointed that you didn't include pictures of the Gran bird! :-) But he liked the picture of him being a sloth...and he oohed and aahed over the one of him at McDonald's.
ReplyDeleteCheryl, I think this is just so precious. These are days that each child will always remember. And the fact that the days are set aside specifically for them, one by one, is really endearing. I love your photos of this special day with Gavin. My heart says ... "ahhhh."
ReplyDeleteThe Gran bird didn't make the cut (so many pics!), but may appear in a future post! ;-)
ReplyDeleteHi Cheryl,
ReplyDeleteI just found this post. Thank you for sharing it, because I am in a unique situation as a grandma - raising children still and having my grandchild living in my home!
Thanks for encouraging me to blaze my own path as a grandma!
Deanna