Hello! - September 1, 2018
What a riot! Jasper has said his first English word. The parenting books say by age one your toddler may be saying “mamma” and “dadda.” Not Jasper, his first word was “Hello!” and we were there at the time to see and hear it.
We would have thought it was babble except that he picked up the remote control for the TV, held it over his ear and said, “Hello!” And he continued to do that throughout the day with a variety of objects – including a stick. I didn’t say he was baby Einstein.
This all happened at Granny’s house – my mom – Granny Marj. This is a third generation of kids that love going to Granny’s house. When I brought my boyfriend-soon-to-become-my husband home to meet GM, he was simply amazed at her house. She had one! Not only that, he had never seen such a well-stocked fridge in his life.
GM would say, “I’m going shopping. Write down on a list what you want!” And Laur would look at me like, “Is this some kind of test?” Eventually he felt confident enough to write down things that he could never get enough of in his childhood – potato chips and polish sausage. And within an hour, they’d appear. Voila! And within a few hours, all gone. Disparu!
Laur still feels this way. Polish sausage has been replaced by Hawkins Cheezies, and regular potato chips have been replayed by Pringles. But the experience remains the same. Yee haw! Chowing down on things he’s sworn off of in his retired life in St. Catharines.
Our kids simply loved going to Granny’s house. Granny’s house stood for all those things you could not have – or rarely have – at home. Playing Nintendo in the morning or watching cartoons, pop-tarts or sugared cereal for breakfast, “Granny Burgers” – made with high quality meat (unlike the sad things I served at home), and going to Reid’s dairy for cones or shakes pretty much every night.
There were some very long faces when it was time for the kids to come home – not only Anna, Tom, Carolyn, and Elaine – but Laur and me too. I gotta say, we enjoyed our freedom.
And now the next generation – GM has five great grandkids whom she adores – Emma, Oliver, Gaelle, Jasper, and Zoe-Marjorie. But in this story I’ll just talk about Charlie and Jasper. Who is Charlie? That is Tom’s and Julie’s first “kid” – a crazy cat named Charlie. He would visit GM when his “parents” visited and he loved it. All kinds of windows to look out, birds and squirrels to chatter at (and be afraid of), lots of rooms to explore, and such comfy furniture to shed on.
When Jasper came along, Charlie started staying home. And I gotta say, he enjoys his day or two of freedom from his #1 fan Jasper, who loves to toddle after him and attempt to pet him – which can mean pulling out a wee fistful or two of fur.
Tom and Julie live in Toronto and Jasper has a nice long nap en route from TO to Belleville. So he wakes up ready to rock ‘n roll, and there to greet him at the door is Granny Marj, who is also ready to rock ‘n roll. When he sees my mom, he starts to laugh and laugh and laugh. It’s just a riot.
Mom’s downstairs has four large rooms that Jasper is free (mostly) to explore. Things get knocked over, and cupboard doors get opened and shut – repeatedly. Jasper – like his older brother Charlie – loves to look out the patio doors on to the green space of Albert College.
And he loves loves loves Granny Marj’s unusual assortment of toys including a Fisher Price rolling bear that came out in the 70s and a rooster on wheels that falls over a lot. GM thinks that Jasper may now be ready for the next generation of toys – cars and trucks from the 50s and 60s that make weird noises and may require a tetanus shot! (Just kidding, mom. I know these toys are in mint condition.)
I feel a combination of joy and sorrow. I know this phase won’t last forever. There will be a few teenage years when Jasper will be playing sports all summer. And by the time he’s ready to bring his girlfriend to visit Granny Marj, well, GM would have to live to be 116.
Not unheard of. Besse Cooper of Monroe, Georgia, who lived to be 116, and chopped down her own Christmas tree when she was 86. (Hope it wasn’t her neighbour’s tree. Mind you, you don’t argue with a woman with an axe.) She had just had her hair set and was enjoying an old Christmas movie when she slipped away.
And the women of Okinawa – an island of Japan – regularly live to be over 100. Their secret? Good genes are a big part of it, I think. But they also have things that Granny Marj has – a good social support network of friends and family, a strong sense of purpose, and “attitude.”
Oh, and soju (rice liquor)! Though I think GM is going to stick to her massive Keurig coffee selection. That pumpkin spice coffee she’s serving these days has an extra kick to it! Hello! 😊
We would have thought it was babble except that he picked up the remote control for the TV, held it over his ear and said, “Hello!” And he continued to do that throughout the day with a variety of objects – including a stick. I didn’t say he was baby Einstein.
This all happened at Granny’s house – my mom – Granny Marj. This is a third generation of kids that love going to Granny’s house. When I brought my boyfriend-soon-to-become-my husband home to meet GM, he was simply amazed at her house. She had one! Not only that, he had never seen such a well-stocked fridge in his life.
GM would say, “I’m going shopping. Write down on a list what you want!” And Laur would look at me like, “Is this some kind of test?” Eventually he felt confident enough to write down things that he could never get enough of in his childhood – potato chips and polish sausage. And within an hour, they’d appear. Voila! And within a few hours, all gone. Disparu!
Laur still feels this way. Polish sausage has been replaced by Hawkins Cheezies, and regular potato chips have been replayed by Pringles. But the experience remains the same. Yee haw! Chowing down on things he’s sworn off of in his retired life in St. Catharines.
Our kids simply loved going to Granny’s house. Granny’s house stood for all those things you could not have – or rarely have – at home. Playing Nintendo in the morning or watching cartoons, pop-tarts or sugared cereal for breakfast, “Granny Burgers” – made with high quality meat (unlike the sad things I served at home), and going to Reid’s dairy for cones or shakes pretty much every night.
There were some very long faces when it was time for the kids to come home – not only Anna, Tom, Carolyn, and Elaine – but Laur and me too. I gotta say, we enjoyed our freedom.
And now the next generation – GM has five great grandkids whom she adores – Emma, Oliver, Gaelle, Jasper, and Zoe-Marjorie. But in this story I’ll just talk about Charlie and Jasper. Who is Charlie? That is Tom’s and Julie’s first “kid” – a crazy cat named Charlie. He would visit GM when his “parents” visited and he loved it. All kinds of windows to look out, birds and squirrels to chatter at (and be afraid of), lots of rooms to explore, and such comfy furniture to shed on.
When Jasper came along, Charlie started staying home. And I gotta say, he enjoys his day or two of freedom from his #1 fan Jasper, who loves to toddle after him and attempt to pet him – which can mean pulling out a wee fistful or two of fur.
Tom and Julie live in Toronto and Jasper has a nice long nap en route from TO to Belleville. So he wakes up ready to rock ‘n roll, and there to greet him at the door is Granny Marj, who is also ready to rock ‘n roll. When he sees my mom, he starts to laugh and laugh and laugh. It’s just a riot.
Mom’s downstairs has four large rooms that Jasper is free (mostly) to explore. Things get knocked over, and cupboard doors get opened and shut – repeatedly. Jasper – like his older brother Charlie – loves to look out the patio doors on to the green space of Albert College.
And he loves loves loves Granny Marj’s unusual assortment of toys including a Fisher Price rolling bear that came out in the 70s and a rooster on wheels that falls over a lot. GM thinks that Jasper may now be ready for the next generation of toys – cars and trucks from the 50s and 60s that make weird noises and may require a tetanus shot! (Just kidding, mom. I know these toys are in mint condition.)
I feel a combination of joy and sorrow. I know this phase won’t last forever. There will be a few teenage years when Jasper will be playing sports all summer. And by the time he’s ready to bring his girlfriend to visit Granny Marj, well, GM would have to live to be 116.
Not unheard of. Besse Cooper of Monroe, Georgia, who lived to be 116, and chopped down her own Christmas tree when she was 86. (Hope it wasn’t her neighbour’s tree. Mind you, you don’t argue with a woman with an axe.) She had just had her hair set and was enjoying an old Christmas movie when she slipped away.
And the women of Okinawa – an island of Japan – regularly live to be over 100. Their secret? Good genes are a big part of it, I think. But they also have things that Granny Marj has – a good social support network of friends and family, a strong sense of purpose, and “attitude.”
Oh, and soju (rice liquor)! Though I think GM is going to stick to her massive Keurig coffee selection. That pumpkin spice coffee she’s serving these days has an extra kick to it! Hello! 😊