My daughter Lacey and her family moved this week. After a
few years in a wonderful little house in Bellevue, just outside Nashville, they
bought a house in Hendersonville. It offers much more space so that they don’t
trip over each other or struggle to find space to put things. It also has a
second master bedroom, something that they might regret having if grandparents
visit too frequently.
Amy and I have played doting grandparents this week as
Madden came to visit so that his parents could move all their worldly
belongings. The boy returns home on Wednesday and will have plenty of fun
loading his new room with his “stuff.” It’s during these few days that Madden
has visited that I’ve realized some things.
First, a six-year-old boy has more energy than I do. Madden
woke up every morning ready to “do something.” He came to our bedroom to wake
us. After we dragged our weary bodies out of the bed, he announced that he was
bored. Over the course of the week, he rarely tuckered out, and when a lull
occurred, it was soon followed by a request for one of us to play with him.
A young boy has an imagination with no limits. At one time
or another, Madden was a dragon, a shark, the boy from “The Jungle Book,” and a
character running from a monster (me). In-depth story lines came with each
character, and rules of games played changed as Madden’s need to be the winner
intensified. I marveled at his ability to come up with plots for games and what
each of us would do.
I’m reminded that children will stay in a pool all day long.
Madden wasted no time; he jumped out of the car, changed into his swim suit,
and got into the pool. After three days of water, he began to complain that his
neck hurt. It was the result of getting too much sun that slightly reddened the
area. Only begrudgingly did he retreat to the house.
Inside, the boy took command of the television. My “Judge
Judy” viewing ended for the duration of Madden’s stay. Instead of our favorite
programs, our grandson viewed such things as “Ninja Turtles.” What most amazed
me was how he could watch the same episodes over and over. He sat in front of
the viewing of “The Jungle Book” no fewer than half a dozen times.
Not all was blue skies and smiles. Like all little ones,
sometimes Madden bowed his back and pouted over things we asked of him. He
wrinkled his brow, ducked his head, and turned from us. I never liked that when
my children did such things, but I learned that with a little time, Madden
would be fine. He quickly forgot what upset him and returned to being happy.
Madden woke us up each morning in a special way. His little
feet slapped the floor in the hallway, and then he would enter our bedroom.
He’d stand still and wait for us to look at him and speak. Then he’d say “good
morning” with an angelic voice and crawl into our bed for just a few minutes of
snuggle time. That brought back wonderful memories of two little ones who are
now adults with active lives.
On Wednesday, Madden left Knoxville to find a new house and
bedroom and neighborhood waiting for him. His parents will need some time to
recover from moving their stuff, but before long, they’ll all be settled in and
enjoying the extra space. Back in Knoxville, Amy and I are going to sleep in a
couple of days to recover from the expenditure of energy. The house will be a
little too quiet for a while. All in all, having Madden at our home brought
back some of the magic that comes with children. It also left me missing those
early years with Lacey and Dallas.
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