good kids

Today I was thinking about my grandkids.

We like to brag, we grandparents, about how bright our grand kids are, about how they walk at this age, and read shakespeare at this age. But I have known a few real geniuses in my lengthening life, and it is not all wonderful.

What I like about my grandkids is that they are really good kids, I rather doubt there is a real honest genius in the bunch, even though every grandfather harbors that dream.

So I celebrate the goodness of my grandkids. That is not a small thing.

There are a lot of good kids around, we often forget them. Most are torn in one way or other by what we adults have done to them. One of my friend’s grandkids have parents that are divorced, with mother living thousands of miles away and father has custody. Mom is interfering, my friend says.

I cannot possibly know all the ins and outs of this situation, but divorce has done a number on my family too. I can see that it is taking a toll on these children, all of them.

Maybe that is where grandparents fit in. I notice that as Miriam declines into her Alzheimer’s she seems to be unable to really relate to the little ones. That whole thing hurts. She was a superb mother and grandmother.

I like being a grandfather, next to being a dad it is the most wonderful thing I have ever done in my lengthening life.

Emily, Josh, Andrew, Matt (and the others) I love you and I love you for being really good kids, not perfect, not nutty bright, but really good.

By the way, you can be a good kid and still get a lot of A’s and B’s on your report card!