It absolutely fascinates me how things change with time. I’m referring to our perceptions and the maturation of our views on all kinds of things. When time slips by, its gone. Do you know that feeling you get when you look at your grown children and wonder where all the time went? You wish they could still be babies because you are now in a place where you look back and it flew by. One of the nice things about technology today is that at least we all have camera phones and shoot video so that those precious memories can be captured and enjoyed repeatedly. When we were raising our kids, life was so busy. You do everything you can to make your way in the world or in your career, all while seeing to it that your youngsters were taken care of to the best of your ability and then, in a flash….its over. They are all grown up. The same can be said of grandchildren or Children 2.0
I used to get a such a kick out of grandparents who carried around pictures of their grandchildren and beamed with such pride as they showed them off. It was obvious that these grand babies gave them so much joy and purpose in their retirement years. I thought I fully understood where they were coming from. I was wrong. I didn’t, but NOW I do and I’ll tell you when the epiphany came. I have been a grandfather for a long time. My first born grandson is now a United States Marine. He used to stay with us a lot when he was little. We have eight beautiful grandkids. They are in some respects just like your kids in that you love them all equally. Your heart just gets bigger each time a new one arrives. The whole thing changed when I retired. All these years with the grandkids, it was as if I was distracted. It’s not that I was a bad Grandpa, its just that there was always a big meeting, a project that was due, a big show or multiple personal appearances or show prep to do and clients to entertain. Now that those days are behind me, I see my grandchildren in a whole new way. Little Charlie helped me see that. She gets 100% attention because she is not competing with my career. Charlie has taught me how to play again.
Oh how I wish I could hold each of them again as infants or toddlers. I’d love to soak in all that sweetness with nothing else on my mind. I guess I’m not the great multi-tasker that I thought I was. They were all so beautiful and so smart, inquisitive & loving. Unfortunately, we can’t re-live our lives. I’ll have to settle for memories and photographs. It went so fast. I will not allow any more missed opportunities. For the first time in my life, I have the time to be fully engaged with no responsibilities or distractions. It’s okay now to get dirty or stay up late or make weekend plans. There are plenty of great memories yet to be made. I will fully embrace the role of grandpa with wild abandon. Summer is coming! There are fish to catch, campfires to build, smores to make and frisbees to throw. This is gonna be fun!