Bonding With My Granddaughter

      My wife Wendy and I have babysat all our eight grandchildren at one time or another. But my backyard sports games and more physical past-times have favored the grandsons, which comprise seven out of our eight grands. Wendy thought I should do something special with my seven-year-old and only granddaughter Gwen, just the two of us.

     She likes creating craft projects, certainly more than her four younger brothers, so we drove to a small store that sold scraps, leftovers and recycled materials of every type. There was a barrel full of used crayons, drawers of stickers, threads, yarn and beads galore. I thought the place was run-down, making the local Goodwill look like Saks Fifth Avenue in comparison. This store's cast-offs included rusted bike parts and dusty fabric remnants. But Gwen exclaimed, “This place is terrific.”

     She filled a small basket with sundry items planning to make something she called a “snow globe.” I wasn't seeing it myself in her collection. She didn't even have anything that looked like a globe. She did pick out a ring for herself and a small toy for the boys to share. After she put things on the counter for the clerk to tally up, she said, “I've just got to get one more thing.” Then she went to the other end of the store to pick up some more fabric. I didn't see the urgency in making the clerk wait for that, but I was going to indulge my granddaughter in whatever.

     Though she was in a hurry to get home and show off her 'treasures' I said we had to stop at a Tim Hortons first to get coffee. “Why? You can just make coffee at home.” she said.

     “I don't like the taste of the coffee we brew at home,”

     “Just put milk and sugar in it,” she advised.

     "It still doesn't taste as good,” I said.

     “Then put more sugar in it,” she replied.

     I had to smile at the thought that a little more sugar makes everything taste better, at least in the eyes of a seven-year-old girl.

     As we got closer to home, she said, “This was the funnest day ever.”

     Wow! Success! But it surprised me that an outing with grandpa would rank higher than a fun day spent with her Nana. Gwen spends lots of time with her nana who takes her swimming in hotel pools, even for weekends at posh hotels in Chicago.

     “Even more fun than with your Nana?” I asked

     “The funnest with you I meant,” she said.

`     Well, I'll still take it.