My Grandson Loves Me...Honest

My Grandson Loves Me… Honest.

I was 58 years old when I became a grandmother.
Before receiving this title, I attended many baby showers for the daughters of good friends, and family. And after these special little bundles of joy arrived, I can honestly say that every one of them touched my heart. Their sweet little faces, their intoxicating smells, and the “comical” way their features reflected those of their parents….just magical.

But even after admitting all of this, I still never quite got that “special love bond” these grandmothers claimed they felt for their grandchildren.
After all, giving birth to your own child is one of the most humbling and life changing experiences a woman can have, right?
So what could top that?
Then I found out.
Don’t ask me to explain it. I can’t. “Yes”, everyone says, “Of course he’s great, you can give him back whenever he’s cranky”!
But that’s not it. It’s true. But that’s not it.

When my grandson, Dominic, was only a few days old, that “special bond” started to form.
I was the one who could always calm him. I was the one who could always get him to sleep, and I was the one who always knew exactly what he needed. We had this telepathy thing going. He knew, I knew. And I knew, he knew, I knew.

Now that he is a toddler, that bond is even stronger. I am still the one who can get him to eat. I am the body he scales in the middle of chaos, and I am the one he turns to when no one else gets it.
He makes me feel whole again, (in a way I didn’t know I was broken)!
Okay, enough with the “bonding” talk.

My daughter is now expecting my second grandchild.
She asked if I could come over one morning to watch Dominic so she could have blood work done.
“Yes, of course”, I say. I had never watched him so early in the day, and was looking forward to being the first face he saw when he woke up!

When I got to her house, she recited his usual morning routine, thanked me, kissed me, and with a promise to be back as soon as possible, was out the door…

I am thinking this departure was probably a lot different from how it went down “back in the day”…..before we all contracted CPD, (Cell Phone Dependency).

I remember giving my sitter a list of numbers to call in case of an emergency, showing her where we kept the syrup of ipecac, demonstrating the alternate “fire escape” route, and giving her the name of a neighbor I could trust with my life.
But since my daughter and I have both become “cell sufficient”, this information isn’t quite as critical.

Unfortunately for me, Dominic was sleeping a little later than he normally did. I checked on him periodically, (every 5 minutes), to see if he was stirring. He wasn’t. He was snoring like a lumberjack….must be a male thing.
So I finally went back to the family room to watch TV. It took me about 10 minutes to figure out their remote. And after congratulating myself for not having to “text” my daughter with questions, I heard him cry out.
Yippee, he’s awake!

I walk into his room to find him sitting up, rubbing his eyes, and making little baby noises.
“Good Morning Sweetie, Nana is here!”
No response….he probably didn’t see me, still in a dreamy daze.
Planting a kiss on the top of his little head, I greet him again, a little more gently.
“Good Morning little man. It’s Nana!”

With a look of horror on his face, he points to the door and whimpers, “Mama”!

What??? It’s me, Nana! You know, the one who dotes on your every move? The one who is always here for you? The one with the “special bond” thing going on???

Still, he has this look of disappointment on his face. I attempt to pick him up. He pushes me away. He cries out. Again, with the “Mama” stuff!

Finally…. after several minutes of me reenacting “The Greatest Show on Earth”, (sorry Barnum and Bailey, but I was desperate), he let me pick him up.
We laughed, we played, and all was well with the world again!

True to her word, my daughter came home in what I thought was way too short of time.
She asked how things went. I inform her that all went well. He was great. He was happy. We had a good time, no problems.
No need to make her feel badly for not being here when he woke up. And no need to let her know he was a little upset to see me instead of her.

After all, everyone knows that my grandson and I have a “special bond”. And he loves me dearly…Honest.

All God's Creatures

While taking a walk with my grandson, Dominic, on Saturday, we noticed a tiny little baby bird by the curb and dangerously close to the street. The little bird had all his feathers, but still had the tiny little puffs of white on the top of his head…..he was a little young to be out on his own. I picked the bird up and cupped him in my hands. Needless to say, Dominic was in awe! He has just recently developed an interest in birds and Wednesday had spent the day at the Los Angeles Arboretum (many, many birds)
We sat on the curb together examining the poor little thing for damage….there did not appear to be any, aside from being totally stunned from either a failed attempt to fly the coup, or from being dropped by a predator….happens often, as in the case of our last bird rescue. But that is another story…

I kept referring to the bird as a “baby” and that we had to take care of it until his mother finds him. Dominic crouched down (as toddlers do) leaned forward and said “baby” and kisses the top of his head…..my heart just melted.

By that time Mom (Catherine) and Grandpa (Papa Ed) crossed the street to see what was happening. Papa immediately warns, “don’t let Dominic touch him, he might be diseased” (anyone who knows Ed will get a chuckle out of that). I said we needed to put him in the backyard and protect him until his mother can find him. Catherine said, “Oh Mom, she won’t do that!” I said, “Yes she will, she is probably watching us right now, mother birds always protect their babies”.

So we put him in one of our many antique birdcages in the backyard. Of course first we decked it out like a Four Star nest, complete with straw, water and twigs. Then we put him on the picnic table in clear view. Cat was worried because he hadn’t made much noise and was afraid Mama bird would not hear him. I told her he was still in shock, to give him time and hopefully he will start screeching.

Meanwhile, Dominic was in bird heaven. He kept on trying to touch him through the wired cage…. he kept making bird sounds. Unfortunately, the only birdcalls he used were from the peacocks he saw at the Arboretum. And if you have ever heard them, you would know they sound like women screaming in pain….or they do to me anyway. Dominic actually said “tweet, tweet” a couple of times, but mostly he made the hideous sounds of the peacock. Baby bird looked pretty terrified at that point.

So far, there were no signs of Mama bird.
The door to the cage had long since been lost, so we used a block of wood and a rock to keep the little guy in. He wasn’t doing much flying around in the cage, so we did not want him to hop around on the ground and get eaten by a cat. We figured when Mama found him, she would figure out how to protect him.

Finally, it was time to let nature take its course. Cat took Dominic home and Ed and I got ready to go to Home Depot. Just as we were getting ready to leave, Ed noticed a pretty red bird (not a robin, maybe a cardinal) flying near and around the cage. She kept flying back and forth. Baby bird had finally found his voice and was screeching bloody murder. We watched for a while and then we noticed TWO red birds guarding the cage. I like to think it was Mama and Papa bird planning an escape.


But we finally left, Ed was getting ancy. Grown men can only tolerate bird watching for so long. We were gone for maybe an hour and a half.

When we returned, I went directly to the cage to check on the “baby”……he was gone. Somehow the little door we made with the board and rock had been pushed aside and the bird escaped…and there were no more red birds circling the cage. Mission accomplished!

Now some of you might not agree, but I like to think that Mama and Papa bird rescued their little baby and guided him safely home. And then, preceded to give him a lecture on leaving the nest before he was mature enough to deal in the real world.
Sound familiar?????

We are all God’s creatures.