Thursday, November 3, 2011

If You......



If you read him one book, he'll ask for five more.
If you let him color, he'll want to paint.
If you take him for a walk, he'll want to run.
If you go outside to play, he won't want to come in.
If you take him to the mailbox, he'll want to go to the tennis courts.
If you make him some noodles, he'll  also want a baloney sandwich.
If you want to rest, he'll want to wrestle.
If you take him to the park, he'll want to stop to McDonald's.
If you let him give the dog a bone, he'll want to give him more.



I wonder if the person who wrote the If You Give A Mouse a Cookie book was really writing about life with a preschooler.  The precocious little mouse goes from wanting a glass of milk with his cookie to coloring  a picture of his family that he scotch tapes to the fridge. The mouse moves along in  a string of rapid fire exhausting events.  Exhausting that is for the little boy, who egged on the mouse by giving him that infamous chocolate chip.


Sometimes I feel like that little boy.  On the days Brody comes to Nana's house we go nonstop till... Nana can go no more.  After Brody leaves with his dad, I sometimes do what the cookie boy does,  I collapse in a chair. Not that I would want it any other way.  I want to babysit my grandson. I love my babysitting schedule.  I love being with Brody. (I egg him on!)  Still, a fit fifty-plus grandma is no match for a three. That's why we have our own preschoolers early in life.



When I talk to my son about this he says, "Mom, why don't you just let him play and you do what you gotta do?"  He does play alone at my house and when he does...  I love to watch him. I love to watch him load up his trucks and 'talk' his guys. When I really have something important to accomplish, like cook or clean or pay a bill, Brody knows it and he respects it.  The thing is... that when he's here... he is... my most important thing to do.







I know how fleeting these moments are and how each one is an investment in a solid and happy life. I know, I know... there are no guarantees, but there is plenty of hope. I think it's the reason I forget to turn on the TV. We both forget. We are way too busy.


As far as media goes, Brody does watch a few special you tube videos.  He loves to watch the trash truck videos. Hey, don't laugh, they get zillions of hits. And he likes to watch the great stories..... Goldilocks and the Three Bears and The Three Little Pigs.  At three, he is already using the computer.  He can move the cursor around with his little hand on the mouse.   Which brings me back to... if you give a boy a mouse, he's gonna learn to use a computer. Yesterday, I was checking my email on my mouse-less laptop. I use the little side arrows to move the text up and down. "Nana, you need two fingers," he said while showing me how to do it.  (I don't share my laptop, so he didn't learn it from me!)  Holy smoke! I didn't know that I could do that! Thanks, Bro Bro!



Hey... did you know?

If you give grandma a grandson she's gonna treasure him forever!

2 comments:

Grandma Kc said...

Just love that foot puppet!

Susan Adcox said...

Best. post. ever! I loved it! I had a grandchild just like Brody, only she was a girl. She would want to play a game or do a craft, and by the time I got it set up, she had moved on to something else. Exhausting! She's now a college student with three jobs and still making the honor roll, so that energy can be wonderful when channeled.

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