I Love Being a Grandpa

There are many things in life that you can never do over. You get one chance and one chance only. Then, as we grow older, we see the errors of our ways and almost always have regrets. As we all know, by then it is too late to change anything. However, becoming a grandparent is a "do over." The nice thing for me is that just seeing my grandchildren is all I need. There does not have to be anything major going on. It is all the little pleasures of grand-parenting that I enjoy.

I love when we are asked to babysit. I can hardly wait until we get to their house, or better yet, until our daughter drops both kids off at our house for a sleep-over. That's when the little pleasures begin and do not end, even after they have went home. I am taking the quote from the picture of the tee shirt that you see above.

“Grandchildren give you a 2nd chance to make a good first impression”

Think about that statement for a minute. How many times have you said that you wished that you’d have done things differently when you were raising your children? Now is your chance.

What’s best to change at first? For me, it was the times that I was not patient. Thus time I can be patient. My granddaughter and grandson will not know of my impatience and low thresh-hold of tolerance that I had With my own kids.

I will not be quick to criticize or correct.I I will not sweat the small stuff. I will resist the urge to “ let me do it” to take over.

I will laugh at a cup of spilled milk, instead of yelling, “See what you did?” Instead, I'll tell them how many times Grandpa spilled things too, just so they won't look worried anymore.

I will let them have that piece of dessert, even if they did not finish their whole dinner. They are just kids and their tastes are different than mine.

I will cherish and save all the scribbled sheets of paper that pass as art instead of eventually throwing them out.

I will read them a book even if I am tired.

I will praise them when they do something new instead of being too busy to notice.

I will applaud them for trying their best.

I will console them when they make a mistake and encourage them to try again.

I will hug and kiss them way too much.

I will give piggyback rides even though my knees and back are killing me.

I will turn off the television and play games with them.

I will let them know that it is important to be a good sport when your team loses a game.

I will let them know it is how you play the game that counts. If you try your best, then you did all that you could and it does not matter if you win or lose.

When my grandkids plays Little League baseball, I will clap for them when they strike out and yell out, "Good try!" And I will still treat them to an ice cream cone even when their team loses.

This is what I mean when I say the little things can be such a pleasure. How blessed and lucky I am that I have a granddaughter and a grandson and that they are both a big part of my life. From the beginning, my wife was excited to become a grandmother, but I was the difficult one. I felt that I was too young to be a grandfather as if that had anything to do with it.

But once my granddaughter was born, I was smitten and loved my new found title. Then, 2 years and 3 months later, our grandson came along and I considered myself doubly blessed. When we get a chance to baby sit or see the grand-kids, my wife's face just lights up and even I get an extra bounce in my step.

If you are lucky enough to be a grandparent, I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. And, please enjoy all the little things along the way, because those are the memories you'll always have.