I love my grandkids. They are aged from six years old down to a one year old. There are several on the way as well.
I loved being a Dad and I’m even happier being a grandfather. The great thing about being a grandfather is that when the kids get cranky you can just have them go home. . .and they take the grandkids. Okay, that’s a joke. But, it is great that a grandparent gets to hang out with their grandkids and then the kids go home.
But, one thing hasn’t changed. I’m still picking up after kids. We have a box of toys that we pull out for the grandkids to play with. There are Hot Wheels cars. There are play dishes and play food and balls. My grandkids love to strew the toys all over the house.
Typically they help to put the toys away. But, often going home coincides with “The kids are getting cranky.” So, it’s not unusual for me to be the one that puts the toys away. In fact, there are times we only bring out a few toys. There are less to put away.
It’s a small price to pay to get to hang out with some of my favorite little people.
With the nice weather, and the need for social distancing, we’ve been visiting outside. There’s less to play with outside. We get some soccer balls out and the kids like to kick them around the yard. We fenced our backyard a couple months ago.
Our fence matched up to our neighbor’s fence. He has a beautiful Pondarosa Pine that overhangs my fence. It’s at least 50 feet tall. And like all pine trees, it has pine cones. They drop into my yard daily.
I collect them into a pile next to the fence. If I don’t they become grenades; getting set off by the lawn mower, becoming so many caltrops under the my feet.
So, I pile them up and when they get to be too much, I load them up and throw them away. My grandkids love to play with them. And like the toys, they get scattered all over the yard.
Recently, I collected an entire wheelbarrow full and threw them away. My lovely wife was concerned.
What will the grandkids play with when they come over?
You know that the tree will continue to drop more, right?
We will get to a point in the season where there are no more.
I’m back up to another wheelbarrow full. Clearly, we aren’t to that point in the season yet.
Stay Safe
Rodney M Bliss is an author, columnist and IT Consultant. His blog updates every weekday. He lives in Pleasant Grove, UT with his lovely wife, thirteen children and grandchildren.
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