Young Ones and Older Ones
Posted by Arwen Mosher in Family on Thursday, July 17, 2008 10:17 PM
I always knew my parents would make wonderful grandparents. Having successfully raised six children of their own, they’re quite competent with babies and young children, and they adore their grandchildren, my daughter Camilla and my sister’s son Daniel. My mom has a nearly endless tolerance for the parade of Seuss and Boynton that the toddlers bring her to “Read peez?” and my dad has a big gray beard, a spacious lap, and a huge capacity for the playful and goofy.
My parents’ fondness for their grandchildren is reciprocated. For the kids, a visit with the grandparents is something to be anticipated and enjoyed. It is also something to be remembered: a month ago my father took Daniel on a walk by the river in my parents’ hometown, and the two-year-old is still talking about it. “Walkin’! Wat-ah! Geese! Honk-honk! Gam-pen!” (Daniel has a tendency to add extra “n"s to his words, and he pronounces “Grandpa” as “Gam-pen.” Camilla does it too now.)
My parents came down and stayed for a weekend over July 4th, and since then there hasn’t been a day when Camilla hasn’t talked about them. My favorite instance of this is during family prayer time in the evening. During general intercessions we always ask her if there’s anything for which she’d like to pray. Every evening, without fail, her face lights up. “Gam-pen!”
We ask if there’s anyone else she wants to remember.
“Gam-ma!”
She’d go on alternating between the two of them ad infinitum if we would let her, so we steer her toward praying for aunts and uncles, for Daniel and his in utero sibling, for Mama and Daddy and our own tiny unborn baby. But after we’ve finished that list and we ask Camilla if there’s anyone else for whom she wants to pray, she always returns to her favorites.
“Gam-pen! Gam-ma!”
She’d pray for them constantly if she could. Actually, who knows? Maybe she does.
I have a great relationship with my parents and I feel blessed to have them a part of my life. It touches my heart to see that my daughter feels the same way.
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