Proud Grampa Moments

The current visit by our grandson, Ben, has brought some really interesting things to my attention. First of all, his complexion is positively radiant, which means his loving parents give him the very best nutrition: fresh homemade foods with almost nothing packaged or prepared in a factory. And his enthusiasm for these nutritious foods is a testament to his body’s appreciation for them. I mean, how many kids do you know who love broccoli? Even without mayo! Yesterday I had puréed some apples in the blender because we knew he loved applesauce. Just apples, whole, skins and seeds included (only the stems were excluded). No sugar added. He ate it out of his bowl with a spoon, and smiled after every luscious bite.

His energy is boundless, at least compared to Grampa’s energy. He can outrun and out-hike me without breaking a sweat. He’s better uphill; I’m better downhill.

He loves to contribute to household chores. Karla had emptied the wagon of firewood so Ben could ride in it. When she went to the woodshed to refill it for tonight’s fire, Ben went along and helped by picking up heavy pieces of firewood and stacking them in the wagon. “Here, Ben, put this in the wagon. It’s heavy. And here are five more. Put them in too.” Then she asked him to help by pushing the wagon as Karla pulled it back to the house, which he did willingly.

Later in the day he decided the kitchen floor could stand mopping. So he upended the dog’s/cat’s near-full water dish, resulting in Grampa’s bringing in the mop to clean things up. Smart kid!

When Hilary was a little teeny child I doted on her. I was anticipating what we ended up calling the “Big Rock” moment. It occurred when we were at Florence Lake. As we stepped out the cabin door,  Hilary pointed to the enormous boulder to the west and said, “BIG rock!” It was her first two-word utterance, an adjective followed by a noun. Today Ben approached the front door and said, “Door, open.” That was really significant, being a noun-verb word pair, since he was asking me to open the door. I was blown away (as only a doting grampa can be). Later in the day I handed him the remote control for a large globe light hanging high in the living room. I reminded him to press the number three button, since that controls the light. He did. Then he said, “Light, turn on.” Wow.

Proud Grampa moments in abundance today. More tomorrow? I can’t wait!