Conversations with my grandchildren never fail to entertain me. Two weeks ago, my husband and I spent 8 days with our 3 youngest grandchildren, who are 8 years old, 6 years old, and 18 months old. We were taking care of them while their parents were out of town. It was a big responsibility and bigger challenge, but one that brought great rewards… and some delightful conversations.

My husband drove Owen (8) and Ella (6)  to school each morning. The first morning, Ella was concerned that Grandpa wouldn’t know the way to school, so she directed him:

Ella: Grandpa, you go down this street, then turn.
Grandpa:  Okay
Ella: (Pointing to the right)  Is this the right or the left?
Grandpa: That’s right.
Ella: Okay, go right.
Grandpa: Okay…. here we are.
Ella: No offense, Grandpa, but are you sure you’re going to remember how to get here to pick me up 5 hours from now?
Grandpa: Yes, I’ll remember.
Ella:………. are you sure?
Grandpa. Yes. I will be here. You don’t need to worry.

At dinner that night, we were adhering to the family tradition of going around the table, with each person saying what was the best part of their day and what was the most challenging/sad/difficult part of their day. When it was Ella’s turn, she said her happy thing was that Grandpa had remembered how to get to school to pick her up.

I promise you, neither of us has ever left her standing on a curb by herself.

Owen is a precocious little boy. During our visit, he informed us that he was going to be the Einstein of his generation. Grandpa asked if he knew who Einstein was.

Owen: “Yes, he invented E=mc squared.
Me: What does that mean?
Owen: (replying with great confidence) That even if something is small, it still retains a lot of its mass.

My husband and I looked at each other and shrugged our shoulders.  We would have had to Google that to confirm or correct Owen, so we just assumed he was right… or pretty close anyway. I mean, who could even make up an answer like that?

And then there’s Asher. He’s not talking yet, not much anyway. He says a handful of words, like Ball, Mama, Dada, Ella (or his version of it), dog… words like that. But even with his yet limited vocabulary, he definitely can communicate in other ways. One night I was giving him his night-time bottle, rocking him in his room. As a mom, I remember that time of the night with my own kids…such a sweet time, and I loved having that time with Asher. Once he finished his bottle, I was just gazing into his eyes, lightly rubbing his cheek with my finger, with a small smile on my face… until he abruptly sat up and pointed to his crib. Oh, okay then.

So I put him in his crib, he curled right up, and put his thumb in his mouth… I turned out the light, closed the door, and didn’t hear a word from him. But, I still had that smile on my face.

These are conversations I have to remember. So I write them down. Thanks for letting me share them with you.