BABIES AND SUCH July 14, 2009
You all knew I would write something about babies after the birth of our latest grandchild yesterday morning, didn’t you? Our youngest daughter and her husband-to-be welcomed a little girl into the world and my wife and I were there at the hospital to join in the festivities. If, for some strange reason, men could suddenly be the child bearing gender I would take a pass on the honor. If, for that same reason, I had no choice in the matter then I would be the first to ask for the pain killing drugs or the scalpel to yank the little bundle of joy out of its resting place. Everyone says it’s so natural and wonderful to carry the kid around inside for nine months, and then go through hour after hour of pain that builds in intensity culminating in a short burst of extreme discomfort. I disagree and, as I said, I’ll pass. God gave the job to the stronger sex for a good reason.
Back in Victorian days women were labeled as the weaker sex. In those days men obviously weren’t around when babies were delivered. They were probably down at the tavern talking about what a great kid they produced while the little woman was home doing the producing. Women are tough and it’s just one of the reasons I admire them so much. They’ll display all that toughness in labor and childbirth then within moments of delivery handle the baby with the most incredible tenderness. A man would be so angry at the source of the pain that he would probably drop kick the kid across the room.
Our daughter and granddaughter were at the Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington. It’s not a huge hospital but it was pretty good as far as I could see. The medical staff was caring, competent and kind. The non-medical staff wasn’t too bureaucratically crippled. The patient’s food, believe it or not, was decent. The parking was cheap. My only complaint about the place was the cost of the food in the cafeteria. They actually call it a food court. Almost six bucks for a mediocre ham sandwich is too much so we only bought one meal there.
Everything went well. The baby got birthed, our daughter is fine and her man didn’t faint at the sight of all that messiness. They’re home and starting on the job of being a nice little family.
GRANDPARENTING
Now I have three grandchildren. My two grandsons, ages eight and three, are good little guys. The three year old was living up to the notion of the “terrible two’s” for a while. He seems to be mellowing out more now and we have some interesting little conversations. Yesterday while he was eating his lunch I was badgering him with some silly questions which he wasn’t answering. When I bugged him one more time he said “Grandpa I’m concentrating on eating right now.” So that settled that. Later he was playing in the back of my pick-up truck, which is something he likes to do on a regular basis. He was messing around with some clamps that hold the rails for the bed cover. He said to himself, out loud, “This little boy better not take these off because Grandpa will not be a happy man.” I didn’t make this stuff up.
My eight year old grandson is a bright little fellow. He has a tendency to come across a field of interest and then become extremely involved in it for a long period of time. Last fall he was really interested in the Periodic Table of Elements. He read about it, learned how it was devised, memorizing all the elements and some of the numbers and generally became a minor expert on the subject. Now he’s taken an interest in birds and bird watching. He carries a field guide around, watches for unusual species and draws pictures of birds that he likes. In a few weeks he’ll be going into fourth grade in a program for more advanced learners. We’re pretty sure the other kids will be able to keep up with him.
Now we’ve got a granddaughter. I’m looking forward to seeing this little one develop into a person. The infancy stage is okay, and the cute little bundles of joy are fun in a limited way. But it’s during those stages when their minds start to expand, as they acquire language, which interest me the most. Being part of their lives as they figure out how the world works is the most fun of all. Grand-parenting is good.
Have a fine day.
You all knew I would write something about babies after the birth of our latest grandchild yesterday morning, didn’t you? Our youngest daughter and her husband-to-be welcomed a little girl into the world and my wife and I were there at the hospital to join in the festivities. If, for some strange reason, men could suddenly be the child bearing gender I would take a pass on the honor. If, for that same reason, I had no choice in the matter then I would be the first to ask for the pain killing drugs or the scalpel to yank the little bundle of joy out of its resting place. Everyone says it’s so natural and wonderful to carry the kid around inside for nine months, and then go through hour after hour of pain that builds in intensity culminating in a short burst of extreme discomfort. I disagree and, as I said, I’ll pass. God gave the job to the stronger sex for a good reason.
Back in Victorian days women were labeled as the weaker sex. In those days men obviously weren’t around when babies were delivered. They were probably down at the tavern talking about what a great kid they produced while the little woman was home doing the producing. Women are tough and it’s just one of the reasons I admire them so much. They’ll display all that toughness in labor and childbirth then within moments of delivery handle the baby with the most incredible tenderness. A man would be so angry at the source of the pain that he would probably drop kick the kid across the room.
Our daughter and granddaughter were at the Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington. It’s not a huge hospital but it was pretty good as far as I could see. The medical staff was caring, competent and kind. The non-medical staff wasn’t too bureaucratically crippled. The patient’s food, believe it or not, was decent. The parking was cheap. My only complaint about the place was the cost of the food in the cafeteria. They actually call it a food court. Almost six bucks for a mediocre ham sandwich is too much so we only bought one meal there.
Everything went well. The baby got birthed, our daughter is fine and her man didn’t faint at the sight of all that messiness. They’re home and starting on the job of being a nice little family.
GRANDPARENTING
Now I have three grandchildren. My two grandsons, ages eight and three, are good little guys. The three year old was living up to the notion of the “terrible two’s” for a while. He seems to be mellowing out more now and we have some interesting little conversations. Yesterday while he was eating his lunch I was badgering him with some silly questions which he wasn’t answering. When I bugged him one more time he said “Grandpa I’m concentrating on eating right now.” So that settled that. Later he was playing in the back of my pick-up truck, which is something he likes to do on a regular basis. He was messing around with some clamps that hold the rails for the bed cover. He said to himself, out loud, “This little boy better not take these off because Grandpa will not be a happy man.” I didn’t make this stuff up.
My eight year old grandson is a bright little fellow. He has a tendency to come across a field of interest and then become extremely involved in it for a long period of time. Last fall he was really interested in the Periodic Table of Elements. He read about it, learned how it was devised, memorizing all the elements and some of the numbers and generally became a minor expert on the subject. Now he’s taken an interest in birds and bird watching. He carries a field guide around, watches for unusual species and draws pictures of birds that he likes. In a few weeks he’ll be going into fourth grade in a program for more advanced learners. We’re pretty sure the other kids will be able to keep up with him.
Now we’ve got a granddaughter. I’m looking forward to seeing this little one develop into a person. The infancy stage is okay, and the cute little bundles of joy are fun in a limited way. But it’s during those stages when their minds start to expand, as they acquire language, which interest me the most. Being part of their lives as they figure out how the world works is the most fun of all. Grand-parenting is good.
Have a fine day.
1 comment:
Very nice blog post. I can't believe that my son would have said that about grandpa not being a happy man though. Very funny if he did. :)
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