Grandparents

--- For my grandparents whose support, teaching, and love have shaped the individual I am today and the individual I will become tomorrow.

I don’t recall ever wanting to leave their

house on 63rd street, unfortunately you can only pack so

much into a going to Grandma’s suitcase. Yet, kicking and

screaming I always lost the battle.

It wasn’t my parents fault you know, they were simply

over-matched.  Homemade pancakes, hog calls, hot wheels, and

hot dogs on wiener sticks are an easy path to winning a five year old’s affection,

much more so than bed times and sound parenting logic anyway.

So I consider myself fortunate, and find it comforting that two people I have loved

 my entire life, became two of my best friends.  The conversations have changed,

but the company hasn’t.  Pick-Up-Sticks turned into politics, and together we’ve

 concluded that the gap between grandparent and grandchild is smaller than most minds.

And today, just like every week for the last eight years, the waiter

drops off the bill with a smile, as always my attempt to pick

up the tab is met with loving resistance. As we exit, I am no longer

kicking and screaming, but I want to stay more than ever.