I don't get out as often as some other grandfathers do. But, I have one granddaughter, Taylor, who would like to spend all of her time outside if she could. So on a recent visit here, she was begging everyoneand anyone she could find to go to the park with her. After a few minutes of this, I spoke up and told her that I would like to go with her to the park. She gave me a look like, "Are you sure you're old enough to go to the park?" I was so glad when her mom encouraged Taylor to go with me. Taylor was still dressed in her pajamas, a well-worn Cinderella dress. But, that was very comfortable for her so we took off out the door.
Taylor is such a pleasure to go with outside. She tends to believe that she is responsible for me so she tells me where to go and how to act most of the time, which is fine with me, my wife has been doing that for many years. The park is about two blocks from our house which is just perfect. I let her lead me along. It was a bit windy and the wind had been blowing all night. We spent lots of time looking for dandelions that had turned into wishing lions. When we got tired of that, we looked for other flowers and we saw some beautiful roses. It is a feeling almost beyond description to see her reach out with her little girl fingers and gently cupped her hands around a rose. That's what I call a reverence. She found a rock or two that struck her as pretty and I got to carry them in my lap.
Along the way, there was a broken down riding lawnmower that was positioned after way into the sidewalk. At first, it was fascinating to Taylor. But then, she saw that the way that the lawnmower was positioned made it difficult for me to get my wheelchair by. Then she seemed to show a bit of frustration when she asked me, "why would they just leave their lawnmower right there when it's in your way?" She seemed relieved when I told her that it was okay, I could get around.
Next along the way, was crossing from one corner to the next. Fortunately, we had arrived at the end of the morning shift for our local crossing guard. A crossing guard was a new experience for Taylor. She beat me to the corner and walked around in nervous circles not really knowing what to do. When I got to the corner, I explained to her what a crossing guard was and why they were in important, as well as how we were to proceed. She walked right next to my wheelchair as a crossing guard helped us go by. Once we had completed the crossing, I said thank you and Taylor quickly followed suit with her own thank you which gave the crossing guard a chuckle. Walking along the sidewalk for the next half of a block, several other children used the crossing guard. I was so happy when each and every one of them said thank you to the crossing guard. And each time that they said thank you, Taylor said to me, "that boy/girl said thank you just like I did."
As soon as we arrived at the corner of the playground, Taylor took off for the area where they have the playground toys. I followed and was delighted at her behaviors. There was another little girl, younger than Taylor, who was already playing there. She was accompanied by her mother and the family dog. Now Taylor has developed a "concern" about dogs, so when she had to go around the dog, who desperately wanted to play with her, she took a wide arc. It was all for the best anyway since judging by the incessant scratching, the dog obviously had more fleas than hair
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Taylor lost no time in developing a friend. She quickly asked her her name and remembered it often in their small girl play world. The other girl was a bit more comfortable, being local, with the playground equipment and monetary gift Taylor at tour. But, Taylor would have none of that and explored on her own careful to stay away from most slides, which I think she is a bit uncomfortable with. Soon, they both went off to the swings. The other little girl needed help from her mother to climb into the swing and needed her mother's help to push her. Not Taylor though! The swings are something that she is very familiar with and has been for a while now. Her little friend was amazed that Taylor knew how to "pump" her legs to keep her swing going. I moved to the other side of the park to get a better view of the swings and to rest in the sunlight.
After 15 minutes or so of swinging, Taylor made her way over to me and asked, "do you think of my mother is still at your house?" I said that I didn't know and that probably we should go check. The walk home was rather uneventful, without a crossing guard. The lawnmower was still there though, it's always there! But this time, Taylor just kind of said to me in a matter-of-fact way, "that guy left his lawnmower in your way."
After we got home, Taylor had a couple of bites of something and then she quickly asked, "Gimpa, would you like to go to the park again?" Fortunately, her mother had another idea of what she wanted her to do. I would have gladly gone with her again, but it took me a two-hour nap to recover from the morning! I know that other grandfathers do activities with their grandchildren that are much more "exciting", like going to Disneyland or boating or fishing, things like that, but I am filled with as much joy and and content to find "excitement" in the simple things of life.
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