In Residence

Helping Gramma with her Spice Racks

I’ve decided it should be required every year to have my granddaughter in residence to assist me in my usual post-Christmas funk – that period when I’m coming down from the annual high I always get around the holiday. She’s a lot of fun to have around, endlessly entertaining – at least for her grandparents. I found myself studiously watching the clock yesterday morning, counting off the hours until I could head home for lunch and some “hang time” with her.

Unwrapping the Last Present

She did not disappoint as she has quickly established the living room as “her room” with toys liberally spread about to validate the claim. She gave me one of her trademark smiles when I came in and was soon lecturing me on the importance of stair climbing and bubble popping. She found a large present (a stroller for her) that hadn’t been unwrapped yet so she climbed on top of the box and started ripping away.

Buddy at the Scene of the Crime with the Deceased Lobster

I was praying for time to slow down to extend the lunch hour but that was sadly not in the cards. She was freshly up from her nap when I returned home after work though. In the interim Buddy had decided to perform his signature surgery on one of her Christmas gifts. He feels compelled to remove any noise making device lodged inside a stuffed animal. Yesterday’s unwitting victim was a stuffed lobster my wife had gifted our granddaughter. Buddy carefully cut the lobster out from the literal pack of stuffed animals and retreated to his basement lair to remove the offending noise maker. My wife didn’t even know the lobster had a noisemaker until I showed her the chewed up remains. Fortunately the First Blog Reader has a couple dozen other animals and hardly noticed the reduction in their population. Buddy once again firmly established himself as persona non grata with a certain grandmother.

Spices Belong in the Coffee Maker

She was in turn cheered up when the granddaughter decided her spice storage arrangement was all wrong. Our granddaughter had already fixed this issue for her parents back in L.A. and decided to lend her abuela a hand. She removed all the spices bottle and jammed as many as would fit into the top of the coffee maker which made a lot more sense than the spice racks my wife was using. She then turned her attention to the nearby refrigerator where every magnet was removed and inspected. It was highly entertaining.

Hard at Work for Abuela

Doesn't This Make More Sense Grandpa?

Now Let's Talk About this Refrigerator

Where to Start!

She was also the star of the show at dinner where she loved having everyone around the table as a captive audience for her posturing. She seems to revel in getting everyone to laugh by simply making silly faces. She’s an absolute joy to be around. I’d just returned from deckzilla where my wife had me barbecuing by flashlight. My granddaughter quickly assumed control of the flashlight and after a rudimentary lesson was turning it on and off by herself. This is what grandparents are supposed to do – pass on new talents to make the life of their grandchild’s parents more interesting. You are welcome.

The Dinner Show

Flashlight Times

I was very sad yesterday to learn of the death of Carrie Fisher. She was truly the princess for my generation and was virtually the same age as I am (mortality sucks). She of course burst onto the screen as Princes Leia in Star Wars and seduced an entire (and subsequent) generations of male geekdom (guilty), even before she donned the gold bikini in Return of the Jedi. More importantly she was a strong vibrant role model for young women who saw her more than hold her own against the men, both good and bad. She was as close to American royalty as we’ll tolerate and was a talented writer which I hold I much higher esteem than any actor. I’m going to miss having Princess Leia around not realizing the mistake she made in never tracking me down as her one true love. Of course there are millions of other middle aged men thinking the same thing today. 

Had to be Something Special to Make that Hairdo Work
And She Certainly was - R.I.P.