In reflecting on yesterday I realized that I use a lot of different muscles and get into a lot of different positions than I normally do when watching my grandchildren. I’m up and down off the floor, bending over more, lifting more. Not to mention being far more attentive than when it’s just my better half and me.

This is actually good for me because keeping agility in your senior years is important. Keeping strength is also key.

But the mental exercise you get interacting with children is invaluable in my opinion. Seeing the joy and innocence of a 0–2-year-old. Watching them crawl and then learning to walk. The sounds and reactions turn into words. The learning experience and cunningness of a 2–5-year-old. Their inventiveness. The expressions and honesty of every action or interaction.

Which made me think of my almost 4-year-old grandson who was getting tired yesterday after playing hard. He’s in his room and I’m watching him and he starts to walk backwards and into an open door. Hits his head and says “owe” and comes over to me and says it hurts Papa and asks how it happened. Trying hard not to laugh, I said you were walking backwards and I guess you had the eyes in the back of your head closed.

He says I don’t have eyes back there. I opened my mouth wide and then asked, why are you walking backwards then. He paused and then laughed but still rubbed his head so I put him in my lap and asked where it was and inspected it and said we might have to operate. He jumps up and says no. I said OKAY we will wait till daddy gets home for a second opinion.

He paused for a few minutes while I rubbed his head more and then slowly turned and in a pitiful voice said “can I have a chocolate covered pretzel” that I got him from the beach candy store. He’s the master negotiator recently.

This is a special time as a grandparent. Just like my own children the time passes fast and then they are adults. I’m going to soak up all that unconditional love and smile at every moment even when it’s tough to get up from the floor for the 50th time that day. I’ll relish the ability to make funny faces and sounds in public as much as I want to entice the smile and laughter of my 1-year-old granddaughter.

I’ll make truck noises and ignore the pain in my knees from crawling on all 4s. And I’ll hold them as much as they want for as long as they want despite the discomfort I will have later. I’ll run through a sprinkler with them or spend half a day on tractor rides.

I might grunt and complain when I get home. There are challenges each time because kids are kids and need direction. And we try to reinforce what their parents want. And respect their wishes.

Did I sneak him a few jellybeans yesterday, you bet I did. I’m Papa