My friend Brandy

Grandboy (carefully arranges pizza slices and brownies on a plate)

Me: …

Grandboy (presents the plate to me, and speaks in his best Butler voice): Hullo, suh… Care for some pizza and a whiff of brandy, my good suh?

Me: Indubitably




Waterman

Me: What does a milkman bring?

Grandboy: Milk

Me: What does a mailman bring?

Grandboy: Mail

Me: What does a fireman bring?

Grandboy: Um

Grandboy: Fire supplies!

Me: What kind of supplies?

Grandboy: Um. Hmm. Ah! Water!

Me: So we should call him a ‘waterman’.

Grandboy: Yes! We’ll call the waterman in case of fire, because the fireman will bring fire and burn down the house!

—-

I’ll save the discussion about ‘garbageman’ for another day




SCREAMOlicious

Grandboy: WAAAAAGHWAAAAAGHWAAAAAYWUUGUGHUA

Me: !

Grandboy: I BET YOU NEVER THOUGHT I COULD MAKE THAT NOISE DID YOU GWUMPA!?!!!?

Me (dons headphones without plugging them into anything): Ah somehow I suspected you were capable of it. Oi and stop practicing it. No, really.




The best medicine

Grandboy: Ha hey gwumpa wasn’t it funny when I threw up out of my nose just now? (He’s been battling a cold for a while now)

Me: Um yep, that was funny (smile)

Grandboy: Sometimes you just have to laugh at yourself, huh Gwumpa?

Me: Yep sometimes that’s all you can do.

Grandboy: Well that’s done, now I’m going to mop floors for Extra Credit. I’ll get credit, right?

—-

I’ll take all the good attitude he can toss my way!




Never was heard an encouraging word

Grandboy: Gwumpa look I’m on the roof.

Me: Yes, I see. We both are.

Grandboy (walking towards the edge): I won’t DIE if I fall off, will I, Gwumpa?

Me: You might.

Grandboy: What?!? You LET me on the ROOF if I might DIE!!!

Me: Yep.

Grandboy: Now I’m scared.

Me: Don’t be scared. Be careful. Learn the difference and you’ll be ok.

(Later, on the way down the ladder)

Grandboy: Gwumpa sing an encouraging song so I can be careful coming down.

Me (in a deep baritone): DON’T fall DOWN. If you FALL you will DIE. DON’T slip your FOOT… you will TUMBLE DOWN and FALL

Grandboy: GWUMPA. That’s NOT ENCOURAGING.

Me: Yah it is. It’s encouraging you not to slip and fall off the ladder. See? You’re on the ground already.

Grandboy: AWESOME I’M GOING IN THE HOUSE TO CALL MOM AND TELL HER I WAS ON THE ROOF

Me: Good thing I got clearance ahead of time…




Some light reading

Grandboy (playing a video game): Look, my guy is in a lighthouse.

Me: That’s pretty cool, having a house you can pick up.

Grandboy: Huh?

Me: Because your house is very light. It’s a LIGHT house.

Grandboy: O no grandpa, it’s a house that MAKES light. It’s too heavy to carry. Except for the Hulk, he can pick it up. He can pick up ANYthing.

Me: I bet he can’t pick up GRAVITY

Grandboy: O YES HE CAN. He can pick up THE UNIVERSE

Me: Well, if he’s picking up the universe, what’s he standing on? He has to stand on SOMETHING to pick up everything else.

Grandboy: He just CAN, alright, gwumpa?

Me: Ok fair nuff.

Me (waiting a few mins): So how heavy is light? Can the Hulk pick that up?

Grandboy: Yes he- o wait, no cuz it doesn’t WEIGH anything. You can’t carry it around.

Me (waiting a few mins more): So if light doesn’t weigh anything, how fast can it go? It has to travel because if you’re in a dark room and switch on the light, it moves from the light bulb to your eyes.

Grandboy: Hm maybe BILLIONS and BILLIONS. It’s the fastest thing in the WORLD. That’s why the Flash has LIGHTNING on his costume.

Ok that’s general relativity framed up, on to quantum mechanics… just have to make sure he’s learning real science and not comic book physics 😛




What’s in a name?

Grandboy (reading a name): Maaarrco. Is that a boy or girl name?
Me: That’s a boy’s name. Usually names that end in ‘o’ are boys’ names. Names that end with ‘a’ are usually for girls. Like ‘Maria’ and ‘Sophia’ and
Grandboy: …and ‘Noah’




The Fall of Autumn

Me: O look. The leaves are falling because it’s FALL.
Grandboy: Autumn gwumpa. AUTUMN
Me: What are them Yankees learnin’ yew in thet thar school o’yers, youngun?




Driving at a snail’s pace

Grandboy (spots something outside the back truck window): Hey gwumpa there’s a snail holding onto your window.
Me (looks back): Ayep, sure is.
Grandboy: He sure likes it back there.
Me (driving): Ayep.
Grandboy: Because you’re a safe driver. Huh, gwumpa? He feels SAFE with you driving us around.
Me: …
Grandboy: Sooo… what if your WHOLE BACK WINDOW was covered with SNAILS gwumpa?
Me (thinking, “ewwwww”): The whole back window?
Grandboy: Yah! That means his whole family wanted to ride and he said it’s ok because you’re a SAFE DRIVER.
—-
Just goes to show you that one man’s slimy vehicle is another creature’s safe haven :p




Captain Kirk would be proud of me

Grandboy: You’d never lie, would you, gwumpa?
Me: What if I told you I ALWAYS lied? Would you believe me then?
Grandboy: Of course I would!
Me: But then you’d have to believe I’m lying.
Grandboy: …yea… (wheels start moving)
Me: But if I always lied, you couldn’t believe what I said, which was actually the truth.
Grandboy: Just DON’T LIE GWUMPA, DON’T DO IT. IT HURTS MY BRAIN




Know thine enemy

Grandboy: Too quiet in here. I can’t eat.
Me: Quiet is good. You can hear your enemies come when it’s quiet.
Grandboy: (through muffled bites of pancake): Who’s our enemy, gwumpa?
Me: Zombies. And people who would hurt us. (Opens the blinds) But looks like no zombies today.
Grandboy: Zombies aren’t real, are they gwumpa?
Me: Nah. Just pretend.
Grandboy (looks outside): I’ll be back. It’s nice outside.
Me: Ok. Listen for things. You might even hear birds out there.
Grandboy: Birds aren’t our enemy, are they gwumpa?
Me: Nah.
Grandboy: Ok gwumpa.
Me: Unless they are zombies.
Grandboy: GWUMPA




Diplomacy taught

Grandboy: I’m the king of this land Me: Ah I see. How do you treat your people?
Grandboy: I am STRONG. If they don’t do what I say I lock them UP. Maybe forever. And punish them.
Me: That sounds like a bad king. I’ll have to stop you if you start doing that.
Grandboy: How you going to stop me, gwumpa? I have a million armies, no, a BILLION armies and you have just…
Me (looks at him and raises an eyebrow)
Grandboy: Or I can just FIRE them. (points to an invisible peasant) You’re FIRED!
—-
The best battle is won before a shot takes place.




HELLO! IS IT ME YOU’RE LOOKING FOR…?

Grandboy (making a sustained screeching sound)
Me: OI HEY OI STOP THAT
Grandboy: I can’t help it Gwumpa
Me: How ’bout, instead of screaming, you sing something. I’d like that better. So would everyone else.
Grandboy: Ok Gwumpa
(later)
Grandboy (singing, screechily) HELLO! IS IT ME YOU’RE LOOKING FOR…?
—-
Screamo Lionel Richie. Awesome.




Put that shirt on

Grandboy (takes off shirt)
Me: Boy, put that shirt on.
Grandboy (hangs shirt on doorknob)
Me: What are you doing?
Grandboy: Gwumpa you said to put the shirt ON. You didn’t say WHAT to PUT IT ON.
—-
Can’t argue against that logic. But the shirt went back on his body eventually. Right side out and not backwards. Eventually.




Pizza in my hair

Grandboy: O man why my pizza keep falling off my plate?
Me: Because you keep dropping it.
Grandboy: That means I need a bigger plate.
Me: Nice try, boy. Just be more careful 🙂
Grandboy (making a face, sticks out his tongue): Uh there’s pizza in my hair.
Me: How’d you get pizza in your hair?
Grandboy: NO I MEAN HAIR IN MY PIZZA
Me: So you’re having a hard time aren’t you?
Grandboy: I shouldn’t eat things off the floor.
—-
And so lessons are learned




Hug a fish today

Grandboy (at a koi fish pond slowly waving his arms): Come on, everybody! Gather round, gather round…
Mamasan (emulating him): Hey they aren’t coming to me.
Grandboy (stopping and backing away): That’s because they know I’m the Pokemon trainer. Try now.
Mamasan: Still no. They’re even hiding now.
Grandboy: You have to be PAAAATIENT mama. Put your arms out like you’re hugging them and gathering them up for a hug. Like this. (Moves foward, moves arms in scooping motion) GATHER ROUND PEOPLE Fish (swarm to the grandboy)

He may be useful as the hunter during our zompocalypse efforts