A lot of people that know me really don’t know me as well as they think.  I’ve been described by many over the last few years as nothing more than an old fart.  While some of them do it jokingly other really seem to mean it.  They don’t understand that underneath all of this sarcasm and rapier wit resides a very sensitive person who’s feelings can be easily hurt just like everyone else.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not whining only stating the facts. As of this late date I feel the only people close to me that really “get me” are my two grandsons aged three and six months.  They came to visit last night for a few hours while their parents enjoyed a night by themselves away from the madness of child rearing. 

‘The house looked like a Toys-R-Us exploded.’

My first job was to spend a half hour with grandson #1 chasing him around the house and generally irritating the hell out of my better-half.  For a change I had a partner in crime which allowed me to misbehave a great deal more than usual and to blame it on him.  We ran around the house throwing and bouncing balls in every room until he got bored, I got tired, and she got angry. Our fun night was just beginning.

I spent the next hour helping him empty out the toy box which left toys and trucks everywhere. I sat and mindlessly helped him build things and destroy other things.  He made me his official play-pal when he gifted me with an honorary plastic dinosaur.  The way he presented it to me made me feel like I’d just won an Oscar.  He was very serious about it and it apparently held a great deal of meaning for him.  I was really  honored.

‘And the winner of this prestigious award is . . . . ?’

We then took a break from the action by sitting on the couch with his little brother. That little guy just makes me feel good all over because all he does is smile and giggle.  I played a little paddy cake with him which I hadn’t done for more years than I care to remember.  I have to admit it felt pretty good.

I’m a person who loves to eat, a true foodie, and when dinner came around I found out we’d all be eating from the three year olds menu. Since he’s partial to fish sticks, guess what, we had fish sticks.  The last time I had a plate of fish sticks was more than four decades ago. That first bite took me back to age ten in one giant mouthful.  It tasted exactly as I remembered and that was pretty cool.

The six month old downed a mug of thawed out mothers milk and crashed on the sofa next to me. The three year old finally ran out of his endless supply of adrenaline and fell asleep rather quickly on my chair. Even an exciting Mickey Mouse movie on Netflix couldn’t keep him awake. Unfortunately for me I’ll be singing and humming all of those catchy little tunes for the next week.  The curse of Walt Disney.

‘An full hour of this is almost unbearable.’

Once they were all asleep my better-half and I returned to our reality, a cold drink and a little peace and quiet.  These babysitting nights are always a lot of fun but also a little strange at times. If my mind wanders for just a moment all of a sudden I’m six years old again and playing with my childhood friends. It must be true what they say, everything we experience in our lives is stored somewhere in the brain and comes out when we least expect it.

I look forward to their next visit and the little bit of time travel that it offers.