“I sustain myself with the love of family.”

» Maya Angelou

I’ve been quite erratic with my blog these past few months. Especially these past few weeks . My three grandchildren were meeting up after a six month break and I was far too busy enjoying their company to find time to blog.

Despite the tantrums and the extra work involved getting three children to get anything done, it was an enjoyable time and I wouldn’t have had it any other way.

Happiness is family time

With families getting smaller and more scattered, family times are rare and to be cherished. So when two grandchildren from overseas decided to come down , it definitely was an occasion to be celebrated especially with a garden party.

My three little monkeys were busy playing around. While it tested our agility, it was fun to watch the interaction between four generations. The great grandparents sang baby rhymes and engaged the little ones with action songs long forgotten, stories and funny faces. The little ones responded with cheeky one liners, stubborn ‘no’s and lots of hugs and kisses.

It wasn’t all giggles and laughter though. There were some terrible tantrums that meant relentless crying for upto forty minutes at a stretch!

At times we had to display  extreme diplomacy to defuse a situation.

P language capame hapandapy whepen wepe hapad topo upuse wopords thepat the kepids coupud nepot upundeperstapand. 

This subterfuge extended to eating chocolates on the sly and drinking ‘wine wine’  judiciously, taking care not to let the little ones have a sip.

Kids’ Gyaan

Despite the creaky knees and aching back, I wouldn’t have had it any other way. I was on a high being permanently in demand – to look for toys, to mediate squabbles, to help bathe kids, to feed a reluctant tot, to sing a child to sleep.

It was also a period of intense learning . Indeed I learnt some important facts.

• The older ones automatically assume responsibility and take control of the situation.  One of our tasks was to get Ms. Papaya to abandon her pacifier. Wow Dinga firmly looked into her eyes and solemnly told her that pacifiers were not nice. It took two nights of restless sleep but Ms. Papaya listened to the advice of her older brother.
• Boys are instinctively protective of their sisters . We were surprised at how protective Wow Dinga and Little Po were towards Ms. Papaya. During one squabble over Ms. Papaya’s Laplop that was appropriated by another child, Wow Dinga took it upon himself to prise the toy out of the reluctant toddler’s hand and give it back to Ms. Papaya.
• Children need the company of their peers to blossom. Little Po, the youngest of the lot is naturally shy and reticent – quite the opposite of his rambunctious older brother. I was pleasantly suprised to find him come to his own and actually smile and giggle in the company of Ms. Papaya.

After a delightful day spent in each others’ company for one last time,  Ms. Papaya went back with her mother. I am back to my daily life now with a ton of memories to cherish till we meet again.

Linking up with #MondayMusings hosted by Corinne at EverydayGyaan