Lion in wait

The sunlight pokes its fingers through the blinds as the grandboy tigger-bounces into the bedroom.

“GWUMPA gwumpa wot you doin? Wot you doing gwumpa?”

“Sleeping.”

“WHY? The sun is up time to get up. Wot you doing gwumpa?”

“Lying in bed, boy, lying in bed.”

“A LION?!?!?” he misunderstands on purpose, “Quick HIDE hide gwumpa!!” [jumps onto the bed and scrambles under the covers, elbows and knees strategically finding their way in all my soft spots]

“SHHHHHH” he shushes at the top of his whisper voice.

Quiet.

More quiet.

Then, a little hand pokes out from under the blanket, and i hear a muffled, “wrrunnn”.

‘What?” I pull up the blanket.

“I SAAIIIDDD, I need a wrench.”

“Why do you need a wrench?” and hand him an imaginary wrench.

“SHHHH.” He scoots back under the blanket.

Another tiny hand pokes out, and a shouty voice, “SCREWDRIVER!”

I hand him a screwdriver.

Again the hand and voice, “ANOTHER KIND OF SCREWDRIVER!”

I lift the blanket and ask, “Sooo what happened to the lion?”

“GWUMPA.” pulls the blanket back on himself but not all the way, “You can’t drive away from the lion in a bwoken jeep. I fixing the jeep but be quiet or the lion eat you.”

And so the day begins 😀

Photo credit: Some rights reserved by Tambako the Jaguar

Flash Arrow

Grandboy is running around in nothing but his superhero underwear. And carrying a clothes hanger.

“I superhero! I Flash Arrow!” He cries as he does a parkour move into the bedroom.

“You’re Flash? Fast as an arrow?” I misunderstand on purpose.

“NOOO GWUMPA I Flash ARRROW. A new cacature” he corrects me. “See my arrow?” Holds up the hanger like a bow, and like I did as a kid.

“Flash ARRROW” he shouts, and apparently the bow doubles as an arrow as the thing flies across the room.

“Well Flash Arrow let’s flash into some clothes and put your arrow back in the closet for another day.”

“Gwumpaaaaa…”

Photo credit: Some rights reserved by keeeeegan

Wamalemon

Grandboy and his momma came home with a wamalemon. It was a small one but still a little larger than a camelope.

Where are you?

“Gwumpa come ‘ere”

“Where?”

“Over here”

“Where are you?”

“I’m over HERE”

“Where?!? I’m walking around and don’t see you 🙁 ”

(giggle)

People small enough to fit inside cabinets are challenging at times 🙂

Photo credit: Some rights reserved by waferboard

Gwumpa’s Story

About half a decade ago my daughter shared with me the news that she was expecting a baby. She wasn’t even old enough yet to drive.

I wasn’t thrilled, but I wasn’t devestated, either. What I was mostly was scared.

And I could see my fear echoed in her eyes as she looked for answers to questions that hadn’t even been asked, but would be, and very quickly.

I was scared for her path and the decisions awaiting her along that path.

She chose a path some have said was unwise at her age. She chose to not just keep the child alive, but to raise it as best as she could on her own.

It hasn’t been an easy path for her, being a single teen mom, and not even out of high school.

Truth be told, it hasn’t been easy on me, either.

But that’s perfectly ok. We’re not here to trod an easy path.

We’re here to face tough choices, to learn from bad decisions, to keep going when faced with adversity.

We’re here to do what we believe is right, even when so many opportunities are at our disposal to do an easier, but less enheartening thing.

Mostly, we’re here to spread the grace and goodwill passed on to us by others who have come across our journey on these paths.

Lord willing, maybe even our grandkids will catch the bug and spread it around to others. That’s the plan, anyway.

And she’s been an awesome mom. Knows that there are things she gives up for the sake of her child’s well-being. Knows that she’s a mother first before anything else. Knows that the time she spends with him daily is time he’ll cherish in his heart forever.

The original fear in our eyes has been replaced by thankfulness.

So what does the next five, ten, fifty years hold for my Gwumpa Stories?

Can’t say, really. That’d spoil the surprise.

And I’m no stranger to surprises 😀

Photo credit: Some rights reserved by h.koppdelaney

YAY SCHOOL TIME

The grandboy is playing a game where he is covering up with a blanket, pretending be asleep and then jumps up excitedly because it’s time for school.

Hey, I’m not one to stop that game. Anything that helps his momma is a Very Good Thing

Photo credit: Some rights reserved by CaptPiper

Digital digits

The grandboy and I cuddled in bed for 10 minutes this morning before launching out of bed for adventures. I know it was 10 minutes because we were trying to make our fingers into the shape of the minute digit on my digital clock that shines the time on the ceiling. The ‘0’ and ‘3’ and ‘7’ are easy. The ‘2’ and ‘5’ are killers…