“The soul is healed
by being
with children.”
Fyodor Dostoevsky

First there was Liam. Then Emily. A few years later, Penny was born, followed shortly by Scarlett. Finally, Henry entered the world. Five precious grandchildren. Five unique personalities. Five sets of interests and abilities. Each one different in their own way. Yet all five of these young ones have embedded themselves in my heart in very special ways.

I have had the pleasure of spending time with all five of our grandkids through the years. Usually, the time we spend together is with family. Every now and then, however, I get to spend one-on-one time with them. If they only knew how much these little moments mean to me. My relationship with my grandchildren can be described with just one word: love.

Liam is now in 5th grade. Emily is in 3rd. Penny started kindergarten this year. Scarlett is in her second year of preschool. All four of them spend the better part of their day at school now. Henry, however, is not yet two-years-old. Normally, while his parents are working, Henry spends his days with Kathy. He loves time with his grandma. But with Kathy in Europe for two weeks, I have the absolute privilege of caring for him during the day. I want to make the most of this time we have together.

Henry is a character. He’s totally aware of what’s happening around him. He understands everything said to him. He communicates his wants and needs with the limited vocabulary he has at this point, but he leaves no doubt about what he wants. Henry also has a charming sense of humor. He loves to play games. He knows when I’m teasing him and he likes to tease me right back. At the same time, when I need to convey an important message to Henry, he understands the difference in the tone of my voice. He stops, looks at me, (thinks about it for a moment), then willingly comes to me. I’m tremendously grateful that he understands when I’m being serious.

It’s only been three days since Kathy departed for Europe. Henry and I have visited two parks, taken a walk around the neighborhood, he accompanied me to an appointment I had at the Xfinity office in San José (where he charmed just about everyone in the room), stopped for a treat at Starbucks, took a walk around the Target store, and attended Story Time at the local library. I’m doing my best to keep him on the schedule to which he has become accustomed — lunch at noon followed by a two-hour nap. So far, this has served both of us quite well.

In the next couple of days, we’ll be visiting other parks, taking rides on a local bus and on CalTrain, meeting my sister Cathy for lunch in Burlingame (that’ll throw him off his nap schedule for the day), going to either the library or a local bookstore to read books together (something he thoroughly enjoys), and… maybe even stopping for an ice cream or Boba drink somewhere along the way. 

This opportunity will never be available to me again. I definitely want to make the most of it.