Grandparents

There is nothing I love more than watching my kids with their grandparents. I can't describe the feeling I get when I see it. Looking out the window as Sabrina and my mom bend over a plant in the garden or catching Caty and my mom sewing together. I can just imagine what she's saying to them, what she's teaching them. They're learning something they'll keep for life and they don't even know it. The girls love to walk the dog with Nonno or sit on the big swing and laugh with Abuela. With my dad, they want to show him everything and get him to fix stuff. On Christmas, it's Grandpa's job to take all the pieces out of the box and put everything together since he's always got a pocket knife! I wonder if my parents ever felt that way. Not that I had as much interaction with my grandparents as my kids do with theirs. I only met my mom's parents once (they lived in England) and, while I did spend time with my dad's parents, it wasn't necessarily educational. I remember watching Mets games with my grandfather and going to play bingo with my grandmother. But our life was so different. We lived in an apartment. We didn't plant flowers or tend a vegetable garden or save caterpillars until they became butterflies. We didn't have birdfeeders or worry about composting and the environment. Maybe that's what's different - the environment. I see my kids in this open, happy, natural environment, sharing time with my parents and my in-laws. And, maybe, when I'm older, I'll be blessed with the same awesome feeling while watching my girls play with their own kids!