Being a grandparent is the best!

I love being a grandparent.

I was told it would be fun and rewarding, but I had no idea how much I would love it.

Technically, I am a step-grandparent, but the grandkids have always known me to be around and I am blessed to be part of the family. These amazing and fun children always brighten my day. Here are a few recent examples:

One day recently, our five-year-old granddaughter was being dropped off to play with my wife and me for a few hours. Her mom and her aunt brought her to our house and we talked with both of them for a few minutes just to catch up. My granddaughter, though, was ready for everyone to stop talking so she could get inside and start playing. She looked up and her aunt and told her quietly, “When you leave, the fun begins.”

It may not have been the nicest way to say something like that, but it absolutely made my day and pretty much my whole month.

I get to play a lot of basketball, soccer and baseball once again now, too. I played these and other sports with my son when he was younger (actually we still play basketball and soccer still today) and now I get to try these fun activities with grandchildren. The two-year-old son likes to kick the ball a lot and swing the bat. He doesn’t always hit the ball with the bat, but it’s fun to swing the bat around. And the five-year-old always wants to see if she can kick the soccer ball past me or if she can dunk the basketball in the backyard. It is great fun, even if she does often score against me.

The one-year-old, by the way, just yells “ball, ball” when he sees a soccer ball or basketball. I like that he knows the word, and it reminds me of when football coaches and coaches of other sports would always tell us to yell “ball, ball” if the ball was coming near us. He is already on his way to becoming a star!

We also made an obstacle course in the house last week, which was great fun. I am already planning future obstacle courses in the house or in the backyard. In addition, I now encourage running in the house, as they grandchildren can run through the dining room and into the living room and then leap onto the sofa. I see nothing wrong with things like this now that I am a grandparent.

It is also great fun to feed the grandchildren all kinds of treats and dessert items and not worry much about it. We just want the kids to eat and be happy while they are at our house. The two-year-old often asks for “pop-circles” so now we call popsicles by that name, too, and I am always buying them at the store now. And if the grandchildren have not had dinner yet, they are welcome to have dessert first. It is so much fun spoiling them!

I get to play superheroes again!”

I also get to play superheroes again! The five-year-old loves pretending she has super powers and I sometimes have super powers, too. We jump over the lava on the floor, protect the stuffed animals and use our super speed and flying ability. It’s great fun and good exercise for me, too.

I love watching the grandchildren singing and dancing, too. They all seem to love different songs and enjoy dancing in the living room. One of the grandchildren loves the Abba song, “Dancing Queen,” and wants us to play it over and over, while another grandchild loves Disney songs. I love watching them sing and dance freely, without a care in the world, just enjoying the music.

I also get to watch cartoons again. The kids shows are pretty good these days, and I enjoy the children’s movies, too. I am looking forward to watching more movies with them as they all grow older, too.

And when the grandchildren get tired, they snuggle up in blankets, sit next to you or tell you that should “cozy up” on the sofa near them. The phrase “cozy up” is now one of my favorite phrases ever.

It is always a good feeling to see the grandchildren happy to come over to our house, and it always makes me happy just to see them. And when I get tired of playing and want to just sit, that’s when their parents usually stop by to pick them up and take them home.

And after they leave, my wife and I take a few minutes to pick up toys, clean up the noodles that have been smashed into the floor, look for pop-circle sticks left on the table, kick the soccer balls back into the toy room and fold up the blankets. And then thankful for with our day and our time with the grandchildren but also very tired, we turn off the “Dancing Queen” video, find a television show that is not a cartoon and then cozy up on the sofa and happily rest.

I love being a grandparent!