This weekend was long but short. Short because it was a two day weekend. Long because Gin and I took on the task of watching Dean and Nolan for close to 30 hours. It doesn't seam like much at first. Both boys are very good and very entertaining. Factor in overnight sleep time and not being accustomed to the sounds of their night time antics makes for one long night. A little cough here, a little whimper there, I'm thirsty, hold me, I don't want to sleep and any other little cry in the night. Gin and I probably slept pretty well when we were sleeping. The broken patterns were what made for a long Sunday. I did what I could to distract myself from the lack of sleep by taking Nolan to the grocery store for sprinkled doughnuts. They didn't have any, so we settled for Spiderman cupcakes. Then on the drive home he proclaimed he wanted sprinkle doughnuts. So I stopped at the Hotspot c-store and picked up a Krispy Kreme glazed doughnut with sprinkles. We we returned home he licked some of the sprinkles then didn't want any more. He wanted a cupcake. He licked it a few times, then lost interest.
Nolan ran around a while then got to a point of an unsettled argumentative state of being. Time for a nap! He fought it a little then finally succumbed to sweet slumber. He settled in the bed and went out fairly quick. Gin had Dean nestled on the couch. I made my way back to bed for a brief 15 minute period of sleep. Then my own rude coughing spell and wondering mind put the idea of sleeping right out the window. I'M UP!
Lunch made its way to the day, then a trip outside for the boys to run/crawl the back yard. I set up a large tarp for Dean to crawl around on. He made it clear that he wanted to play in the dirt, grass and leaves. Every time I tried to turn him back to the center of the tarp, he turned right back to the direction he was heading for. We ended up letting him do what he wanted...up to the point of eating leaves and grass.
Meanwhile, Nolan was satisfied riding his toy jeep or playing with the Frisbees. That and little trips down to the burn barrel to pee on it. Hey! If it keeps his pants dry, its good enough for me.
Dean tuckered out and went in with Gin for a little nap. I kept Nolan out a little longer since he was having so much fun. Before long we were back inside to winding things down. Shortly before 4, Patrick and Jessica arrived to take their babies home. What a long two days. The little ones can sure wear you out in no time.
As much as the times like this wears us out, we cherish the moments we get to be with our Grandchildren. I think it relates back to when we were raising our own Children and how much of there lives we missed because of all the responsibilities that go with raising them. Sometimes parents miss the little things. Discipline, teaching, feeding, clothing, etc. can distract the big picture of how wonderful it is to see a little human being thrive. Grandparents get to see the big picture when they are involved in the lives of their Grandchildren. We get to look back on the lives of our Children and relate them to what we are witnessing today in our Grandchildren.
Sure we made mistakes. There is no real book that teaches you everything about how to raise your own child. Live and learn. I believe Gin and I did a fairly good job as parents. Both Patrick and Caris have grown to be responsible adults who take pride in their lives. Gin was more of the hands on teacher of life itself. She taught them to be open and honest with their feelings and questions about life. I like to think I was the living example of being a productive member of working society who made time to spend with his children when it mattered most.
I probably jump around a lot with my blog posts. But as the title of my blog says "Thoughts and things that surround me". It gives me license to ramble about whatever I want. It clears my mind and hopefully helps my family and friends better understand who I am.
Thanks for reading!
P@
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