Grampy Lash

Our ten month old granddaughter, Alizabeth, spent the night with us a few nights ago. We hadn’t seen her in a month; she lives kind of far away. Since we last saw Ali, her fine blond hair on her little towhead has gotten longer, she has sprouted several new teeth, and she has learned a new word – duck – and she knows her ducks too. If she sees a duck, she says “duck”, and if it’s not a duck she remains silent. She often times throws in a “qack, qack” for good measure.

So whats the big deal about saying duck?

It was the first word I heard Alizabeth say, with a sweet little voice so soft and downy. It made me feel good. It made me smile. It made me thankful for ducks.

Thanks God, for ducks… qack,qack

On a recent overnight stay with Claudia and I, we asked our two-year-old granddaughter Alyvia if she would like a snack after her evening bath. “Hmmm…” this precocious little imp pondered. “Something blue.”

Something blue?

Other than a few frost encrusted blueberries in the freezer, I could not think of anything else we might have that was blue and edible – other than perhaps some blue ice cream. So, I scooped some vanilla ice cream into a bowl, added a drop of blue food coloring, and stirred it until it had softened enough to pour into a toddler sized dixie cup; then placed it before her for her approval.

Alyvia appeared to pass into a slight trance as she gently picked up the little dixie cup, tilting it slightly to one side as if to inspect the clarity, intensity, and color of this thick and cold libation. Then she took a sip, and set the cup down with the care that might be given to fine crystal – and savored this blue delight. She licked the blue mustache from her upper lip and repeated this process as if she were a connoisseur mesmerized with a fine wine, until it was gone.

When she had finished the final sip, she looked at me with those little affectionate eyes that were several shades darker than the remnants of the blue treat on her upper lip and said, “Thank you pa-pa.”

Something blue?… The Princess approves!… Success!