Humor/Grandchildren
The War of the Grandparents
If you are a grandparent you know all about this war
This week is Spring break and so like many other grandparents, we are keeping our six-year-old grandson, Buddy (fake name) for two of these days; yesterday and Thursday.
The other two days he will spend with his other grandparents, “Grammy and Papa Joe”— which means the war is on…
I do have to give Grammy her dues though because soon after Buddy was born, who was my 1st grandbaby, she actually asked me what I wanted to be called. I told her Mimi was my 1st choice and so she graciously accepted being called Grammy. These are our real names as far as Buddy is concerned.
We intend to win, but the other Gammy isn’t without her arsenal…She SO gets on my nerves… She’s a retired elementary teacher, of course, so you know she’s very… crafty.
She’s the grandma who has long been making gingerbread houses at Christmas and she makes sure Buddy joins her and he takes center stage on that fun project. Of course she sends it home with him so the entire extended family gets to see and hear all about their cute project…Okay, enough about her ass. Moving on…
In the morning Buddy asked if we had a box he could use for a Leprechaun trap so Papa took him to the garage where they found a suitable box. Buddy then asked me if I’d make a door for it.
“What’s this for?” I asked, holding a knife. “Grammy says we’re gonna decorate it and then use it to catch Leprechauns.” He replied grinning from ear to ear. I cut a little hole in the side, being careful not to ram the knife all the way through to the opposite side out of angst; but then, Buddy was happy!
“Thanks, Mimi!” He said taking it and running off to our spare bedroom while I was left to wonder why he had asked me to supply the damn box?!
‘Had Grammy suggested this?’ Well, we had our own arsenal lined up…
Yesterday we had a fun trip planned for Buddy. We took off to explore the Kansas Cosmosphere, which is located in Hutchinson, KS and it’s only 50 miles away so you know it was a short drive.
I drove our SUV while my husband led us in a game of 20 questions that Buddy loves.
When we hit a lull in the game I heard Buddy announce, “I get to go to Grammy’s tomorrow and we’re gonna make a mint cake.” “Oh, that will be fun! Is it for St. Patrick’s Day?” I quickly asked. “I guess. It’ll be green and MINTY and we’ll have so much fun… I get to lick the batter and eat some mint chips!”
I began to see green…I looked over and flashed my husband a fake grin and he got the message. He immediately got him back into the car game which soon morphed into another fun game until Buddy said he was tired, so silence took over.
Once we’d reached our destination and were in line to buy the over-priced tickets, Buddy said, “have Grammy and Papa Joe been here?” “I don’t know.” My husband answered, adding lightly. “But, you can ask them.” “Does that matter?” I asked, faking concern. “Noooo, but since she’s a teacher I bet she’s been here.”
Grrrrrrrrrrrr…
We took in two shows over the next 2 hours, one in their domed theatre where the screen is round so the audience becomes completely enmeshed in the movie. The show was on Antarctica, which Buddy has studied in school and since he’s already a true animal lover, he was thrilled to see penguins and whales living in their natural habitat…Score 1 for us.
We had twenty minutes before the next show so we walked through the large museum and saw an old space shuttle and the first satellite that was ever launched into space. Buddy liked it but hey, it was a museum… Snoooooze.
Next, we rode in a simulator that had us seated right in the cockpit of an F18 Hornet plane as it took off and did maneuvers. Jostling around I noticed Buddy was thrilled, although he did grab my arm when we all felt like we were diving straight down towards the ocean…We had all gasped. When we excited 5 minutes later, Buddy excitedly exclaimed he had loved it!… Score 2.
Before we left we went into their gift shop, but Buddy didn’t find any souvenirs he wanted, although I pushed many things on him… I still don’t get this.
When we left we headed for a small Mennonite restaurant, ‘Carriage Crossing.’ Besides the dining area, half of it is a quaint country store. It showcases their own brand of organic meats, Yoder Meats, which come from their farms. It also has an assortment of home-baked goods and gifts, such as handmade quilts, throws, and beautifully knitted sweaters and caps.
Unfortunately, Buddy was pretty much meh, until Papa said we were going to buy a whole cherry pie to take home. He loves this almost as much as his Papa, so that was score 3!
Trust me, a score 3 day is darn good when your goal is to create a great memory for a six-year-old so I was very proud of us!
We took a tired, yet very happy little boy to our kids’ house where we gladly split the pie with them before we left.
As we were leaving our daughter arrived home and in chatting briefly with her on the driveway, I told her I didn’t have his iPad and the Leprechaun box he’d made. I hadn’t realized we wouldn’t be going back to our house after the trip, and I was surprised at her reaction.
“Oh no! He’ll need that tomorrow at Grammy’s. Oh well, he’ll have to go without.” I was surprised. “Wait a minute. I thought you told me he never uses his iPad at her house.” My daughter hadn’t missed my shock. “Oh yeah, he does!… Oh, that was when he was little. She lets him use it whenever she needs a break now.”
Um, Grammy. needs. a. break. when. Buddy’s. there?… Well, what do ya know?… Maybe she’s not such a super Grammy after all?!… Score 4. 🤣
***For more funny and informative stories, hop over and read Carole Olsen. She can take an ordinary mundane day and spin it into hilarity! Love you, Carole! 💖🤣
