Grandpa Plays Hide and Seek

Bill Cosby was in town yesterday – yes, THAT Bill Cosby.  He is still alive and well and, according to our son, Josh, as funny as ever.  So while Josh and wife Arwen went to enjoy the show, their girls, Cailin and Emilie spent some time with us.

You remember Emmie as the one who always wants to win Grandpa’s marbles.  Yesterday something different was on the agenda.  Emmie brought walkie-talkies to the party.   While Cailin and I chatted in the kitchen and worked on dinner, Emmie talked Grandpa into a game of hide and seek.

She had it all figured out.  They each had a walkie-talkie and Emmie would talk to grandpa while she hid and then he had to find her.  I don’t know all the rules but they seemed to be having a grand time.

After dinner we were playing Table Topics.  Table Topics is simply a bunch of cards printed with questions which the participants answer.  It’s a way to facilitate conversation.  All the kids love it.  It’s a great way to establish an open line of communication with the kids while they are still young enough to enjoy it.  Then when they become teenagers, perhaps they will still talk to us!!

Anyway, it was Grandpa’s turn to answer a Table Topics question, but he had made a detour into the other room and was not available.  I told Emmie, “Don’t wait for Grandpa.  He may be gone awhile.”  She must have thought I was casting aspersions on Grandpa’s character as a willing participant in our game and she gently leapt to his defense.

“Grandpa played hide and seek with me today,” she said.  “He could have just sat in his chair but he got up and played with me.”

Wow! Sometimes we think they don’t notice or that our involvement doesn’t matter.  But the fact that Grandpa got up and actually played a game of hide and seek, will be a memory that will last this child for a long, long time.  It’s not the fancy gifts or the new toy that will be the sweetest memory.  It is the investment of time and attention that will return the greatest dividends.

Sorry, forgot to take any pictures yesterday but we had a great visit.