Solo Mother

Grandmothers and grandsons: a match made in heaven

by christina on April 30th, 2007

When I arrived to pick up my son from his weekend at his grandparents’ apartment, he was so excited to show me something he’d been doing on their rooftop garden that he pulled the plug on his bath and hurry scurried into clean clothes. “Come, mama! Come see my beanies! Come see my new quest! Come on, mama!”

He took my hand and led me up the staircase, the reason we call my parents’ home the Up Up Up, as we walked up up up to the rooftop deck. Easily a hundred pots greeted us as we entered onto the garden, each full of new blooming flowers and tender green foliage. “LOOK!” he crowed, pointing to a row of planters along one wall. “BEANIES.” Less than a week ago, the King of Everything and his grammie had planted beans, all sorts of beans–yellow beans, purple beans, green beans, pea pods, and there they were, shooting up like crazy. The KoE was just beside himself with happiness. “Beanies, mama.” Through the summer, he’ll tend those little plants and learn what it means to care for something living. I’ll try to buy him some strawberry plants, too. And of course, a cherry tomato plant or two wouldn’t be a bad idea.

Suddenly, he got all serious, and directed me to sit on the sofa while he rigged his tricycle up for some feat of derring do. He waved an aluminum pole at me importantly. “Do you know why there’s all this tape on it, mama?” he asked me, waving an end rather conspicuously covered with a big ball of tape in my face. “It’s so that in case anyone gets hit in the head, it doesn’t hurt!”

Um. What on earth was he up to now?

My mother set up seven little plastic figures around the garden. Yes, we have 8″ plastic statues of the Seven Dwarves. They were my grandmother’s. Don’t ask. She went through a phase where she thought all those Happy Meal toys were charming, and ended up with a room full of kitsch. Now those weather-beaten dwarves were being set up to take a beating. My son climbed on his valiant steed and ran the gamut, an honorable knight on a quest, jousting all foes in his path. He must have spent an hour doing this, and my mother or I would happily set up the dwarves whenever our shining knight had come to the end of his quest. He was thrilled, his eyes alight, his laughter ringing across the rooftops, and I was in awe of my son and his grandmother… of what he could imagine and of what she would do to make it come alive for him. He is so lucky to have her; I might provide him with stability and guidance, but she gives him his sense of adventure and his sense of humor. I’m certainly too tired most of the time!  If there is someone in your lives who adores your children and can give them something that you can’t, encourage that bond. Everyone will be so much richer for it.

Apparently, today the dynamic duo was on its way to the arboretum. Last I heard, he was wearing his frog boots and his Superman cape. They’re in search of frogs.

Thanks, mom. You’re the best.

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