A Hug Makes It Worth The Effort

We took on the responsibility of baby sitting my grandchildren for an extended weekend to make it possible for my daughter and her husband to get away and have a vacation together. Lucy gets to do most of the physical “work” while I get to play; a great set up if you ask me.

JJ showed me where to find the pin ball game on my computer; didn’t know there was one. We played for a while and enjoyed the sound effects as the virtual pin ball bounced and ricocheted, all the while the points counter racked up a huge score. I cranked up the volume knob and the room shook until Lucy had me turn it back down a notch or two.
Jocelyne was content to watch, holding on to the arm of my easy chair.

This morning I got up early for meetings at church and during the break I came home for a short nap. Jocelyne wanted to cuddle and I found out that she was bound and determined to figure a way up and onto my bed. We have one of those “sleep number” systems with the fancy adjustable frame so the mattress can be bent into various shapes. The bed sits well off the floor and I didn’t think that Jocelyne’s “not quite two” body was up to the task; I was wrong, as she muscled her way up with considerable savvy.

I was not quite asleep, on the border as she decided that a few well placed body slams to my mid section might be fun. Jocelyne has an infectious giggle and continued to pull, twist and turn until she was positioned in the crook of my arm. She then crawled on top of my chest and put her hands out toward my face. The next thing I knew she was patting my cheeks and pulling herself down, putting her face close to my neck and giving me the most tender hugs; no words can express the tender moment I experienced.

We took the kids with us to church and they were well behaved for the most part. Jocelyne wanted to say hello to everyone, especially the folks sitting directly behind us. Half way making sure she didn’t fall over and keeping tabs on her while the meeting progressed, I was for the most part, enjoying the constant distraction of a two year old.

The meeting came to a close and while getting up my friend Russ, the one who was sitting in the next row behind us commented that he’d enjoyed the moment almost as much as I had, watching me sitting with my grandchildren. Being Pea-paw is a tough job; but a hug makes it worth the effort.