In the anunuals of my life, being grandmother will probably go down as significant, but it was not even a blip, in my original design. Isn't it amazing how your life takes a turn that, although not planned, turns out to be the path you would have chosen, had you even phathomed it's existence as a youth.
The grandchildren invaded yesterday. Now anyone who lives with a 60+ year old gentleman knows that you always live in a "childish" world. The things that come out of that man's mouth make me gape that a "grown man" actually said that, but then as I spend time with my peers, it turns out that's the way the senior male set communicate. Wait! I digress...
The grandchildren, 6 of them, 8 and under, came to see me yesterday. They romped and froliced, and fought, and made up, and I saw, in them, a microcosm of life. Even at this age, and with their infrequent connection, they have learned to be diplomats and negotiators.
In one corner, there is the "boss." Although not the oldest, as she was in and out all day preparing for a special celebration today, the boss controlled the action. He ordered people here and there, commenting on percieved misbehaviors, and occassionally requesting intervention to "right" a "wrong".
There was the diplomat/negotiator. This child bargained their way through the day, constantly asking for, and often getting, treats for themself and/or the others, allowance to participate in certain sandbox activities with their personal favorite sifter or castle building appliance, and just genreally running the gauntlet of activities, and people with an outline of a great day, and achieveing thier goal.
Then there was the, (I'm not sure how to define this child, as they were frequently giving themself a time-out, hoping to achieve a goal, that never quite reached fruition) dictator. A good protion of the baseball game was spent in "tree exile," because things weren't going as expected. I imagine Napoleon's grandma saw similar behaviors in her grandson, and wondered where it would lead. Who knew, Elba
The pleaser, the pouter, and the isolationist were also present, but in the jumble, they were just participants in the day.
Grandpa and I had a wonderful time! I sat in a chair, observing and chuckling. How easy it is to laugh now, when as a parent of any of the above, I would have scrurried to the library (didn't have the Intenet back in the day) to read up on what the personality trait meant for the long term for my child. Back then, I would have lost sleep about self-imposed exile and a "bossy" child. Now, I can smile and know that THEY WILL BE FINE. They are children, (I'm not counting Grandpa here, although I guess he's typical for his age too), and THEY WILL BE FINE.
God Bless the Beasts and the Children. I guess that says it all...
