When you were born in the summer of 2014, my primary task
was keeping your big brother Jack occupied and content. When I came to help
while Mama and Daddy were working over Christmas week, she hired a backup nanny
for you, because she thought taking care of two children might be more than I
could manage. So before last weekend, I never got to bond with you the way I did with Jack.
After you moved from Atlanta to the Silicon Valley last
month, I volunteered to stay with you and Jack while your parents flew back to
Georgia for a wedding. I wasn’t sure what it would be like for me, the mom of
an only child, to take care of a 15 month old and a four old for three days –
all by myself.
Having been to San Francisco a few times but never the
Silicon Valley, I arrived several days before your parents had to leave – just
so that I could acclimate myself. You were wary of me, reluctant to let me hug
you. And when Mama went out for a brief errand, you cried yourself to sleep in
a small corner near your parents’ bed.
I thought we broke some barriers when I sat on the floor
with you and your brother while Mama and Daddy made dinner. Clapping my hands
and singing Sam Cooke’s Having a Party as I danced with just my arms and core,
I was delighted to see you “take to the dance floor” with a big smile and pump
your knees up and down. You were just as into this game as your big brother.
Fortunately, your parents left to catch their flight to
Atlanta long before you were up. Given your closeness with both of them, I knew
you’d have a meltdown if you saw them going out the door.
On previous mornings, you were okay about my lifting you out
of your crib. But you pushed me away immediately so you could make a run for it
– and knock on Mama and Daddy’s door. So the night before, I made a point of
finding The Runaway Bunny so I could sit on the floor next to your crib
and read to you before lifting you out. You seemed to find that calming.
Then when I held that packet of Spiderman squeezable, grape,
Greek yogurt up to you, you flashed me your most winning smile. You were
totally cooperative as I lifted you up out of your crib and into your high
chair. Somehow you realized that Mama and Daddy had thought I was up to the
task of providing your adult love and supervision.
By that time Jack was up, requesting the same yogurt plus
toaster waffles. Happily he didn’t mind when you pointed to his waffles, and I
tore off a piece to give to you.
You are an absolute charmer, and loved our outing while Jack
was at pre-school on Friday. Our first stop was the Magical Bridge Playground in
Palo Alto, where you enjoyed the swings, and liked climbing the graded wood
bridge even more.
Not a fan of sandboxes, I was delighted that you were more
interested in the spring-mounted rocking horse. From there it was off to the
Stanford Shopping Center, where you were amazingly well behaved while I
functioned as your Mama’s personal assistant, returning two dresses to
Bloomingdales.
Concerned that you hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast, I served
you a banana nut Quest bar. Please don’t report me to children’s protective
services of California for feeding you processed food.
But the best part of our Friday was yet to begin. After
connecting with a wonderful fellow rower and San Francisco native named Vangie,
we walked over to the Cool Café at Stanford’s Cantor Arts Center. As I think you
and your brother have already learned, life is built on relationships. Had I
not become friends with a rower at my boathouse named Gina, I would never have
met Vangie, herself a grandmother of one, soon to become a grandmother of two.
While she and I enjoyed salads every bit as
beautiful as they tasted, you snacked on applesauce, thank
goodness available via squeezable packet, and sipped the fancy bottled water I poured into your sippy cup. Vangie has a special way with little
ones, and you could not have been more thrilled to make her acquaintance.
Like your grandmother, you, too, are a control freak. You
fought me every inch of the way each time I had to hold you down to change your
diaper. You sat down on the ground in the parking garage when you decided you
no longer wanted to hold my hand. You yelped when I had to carry you and strap
you into your car seat.
Even a woman in the park expressed shock that a little girl
so feminine and delicate looking could demonstrate so much muscle in resisting
my efforts to get her into the stroller. All I can say is that you’re lucky
your grandmother rows and works out regularly, except when she’s chasing after
you and your brother.
There are those grandparents who say every moment with their
grandkids is a joy. They’re lying through their teeth.
And yet if your parents were ask me to watch you and your
brother for another long weekend, I’d say “yes” in a heartbeat. I feel blessed
to have the trust of your parents, and the joy of your company.
Love, xxxoooo Bubbie Bonnie
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