Quality Time With JJ

My daughter Jennifer called last night to see if I could spend some time with my grandson JJ. My son in law’s younger brothers have been staying over and playing a little too rough, enough to make JJ feel like the odd man out. What good’s a grandpa if he can’t figure out a way to help out?

JJ was told he might be going to spend the night with us and had packed his “carry on luggage”, the orange knapsack with a handle on one end and wheels just like the one Bonnie has, only for kids. Bonnie had given it to him, explaining that he needed to have it ready just in case she picked him up to get on an airplane. He had enough cloths to last a week; Bob the Builder underwear, Spiderman underwear, four pair of blue jean shorts, several T-shirts, extra socks and sandals. He was ready.

I had a late locksmith job and was able to pick JJ up just as the sun was going down. On the way out the door and putting him in my work truck I suggested that we drive over to What-a-burger and enjoy a chocolate shake and fries.

“Okay.” JJ didn’t need any arm twisting. I knew that I was to pick Lucy up at the church building where she was teaching a class on emergency preparedness. I’d packed her car full of interesting objects, butane stoves, fire starters, water jugs and a kitchen sink or two. My other daughter, Bonnie, would be getting back from her cruise ship vacation and we were going to leave Lucy’s car parked at the back of the church for her; it would work out perfect this way.

JJ and I were “scarfing” down one French fry after another, dipping them in ketchup and sipping our chocolate milk shakes when Lucy called to let us know it was time to pick her up. The What-a-burger place is just down the road making it easy; one freeway exit and a U-turn, how easy does it get?

This morning I took JJ with me to do a simple locksmith job; fit a key to an old “POS” 1988 Mazda 626 at a small hole in the wall car lot over by Bush IAH. JJ heard that it was over by the airport and grabbed his “carry on luggage”, just in case he needed it. I took an envelope full of blog articles that I planned to mail off to my folks in Florida; the post office at the airport would be convenient once the lock job was completed.

At the post office JJ found an older kid playing some kind of electronic game while waiting in line. The two of them played as if they were next door neighbors until we got to the front of the line and handed the lady our envelope. The postal clerk placed it in the stack as JJ watched and I explained that it was being mailed to “GG” (his great grandmother). We had talked to GG only a few minutes earlier on my cell phone and he thought we might be getting on an airplane to go visit; slightly disappointed that we were only going to send her something in the mail.

I then drove to a location on the airport property where JJ could watch airplanes as they approached for landings. JJ was excited as he saw them far off with their head lamps sparkling amid the many and varied clouds; being thrilled to see so many clouds and trees was as much a treat as watching the airplanes land.

A mail truck with its recognizable logo emblazoned on the side drove past our view on the other side of the chain link fence. JJ immediately came to the conclusion that it was carrying the letter we’d just dropped off at the post office. An airplane on final approach was about to land as the mail truck went by.

“Just in time”, JJ concluded that the airplane was the very same plane that the mail truck was going to meet and that we had timed our trip to the post office perfectly. “That’s the plane that’s going to GG.” Life is so simple when your 4 years old.

My phone rang and I realized that my next locksmith call was going to be considerably more difficult, requiring my full attention. I told JJ that I would drop him off at his house.

“What about the ice cream, Peapaw?” I told JJ that after we dropped off the letter at the post office that we might stop off for ice cream; “might” means “you promised” to a 4 year old when ice cream is involved.

I got off the freeway and remembered that there was a Texaco station close by; hopefully they would have ice cream. JJ recognized the familiar horizontal freezer with the Blue Bell and Nestle advertising before we even got inside the door. He picked one of the orange “push up pops” with some kind of cartoon on the cardboard wrapper. He took the stick off, not knowing that he needed the stick to push the ice cream up a portion at a time. We got it back on and he was pleased at how easy it worked.

We both sat on the curb to permit dripping ice cream to land where it would do the least harm; the front seat of my truck was out of the question. Ice cream was dripping on his hands and as he licked it off it would then drip onto his legs and sandals. He was really into enjoying his orange ice cream, pushing the little plastic stick and licking the melting mess as it oozed over the edges and down the sides.

I had some napkins, left over from the night before in my truck, and a large plastic container of drinking water available. I placed one of the napkins on the curb and had JJ place his discarded pop up wrapper in the middle as I started to “hose” him down. It took a few minutes and well worth the effort as I placed him in the truck and strapped the seat belt on him. This is what being a grandparent is all about.