At the risk of sounding simultaneously selfish and nerdy, I have to admit that I have taken very few vacations solely for the amusement of a child. Now don't get me wrong, there have been the occasional ones, especially when my daughter was young. The annual trip to Strawberry Patch Land and the waterpark trip were examples. But more often they were family vacations with some adult entertainment thrown in. "Oh, doesn't that winery sound great?" "What about that museum?" "Can we sneak in a great dinner at a fancy place?" "How about a great drive around the fancy old town district?" "Oh look at that wine bar, think we could hear some music too?" These adult-themed sidelines have met with mixed results, but never really were focused on the child in question. How many wineries did we visit in their short lives? Did she really enjoy Vegas or New Orleans when she was 9?
But those facts aside, I'll have to say that I meant well. No, really. Even though we hung out at our share of museums that no child would like, drank our share of wine, and made various children sit through endless long adult meals, we did some very fun things. We hiked up a mountain in Colorado, visited Paris, took canoes down the Buffalo River, swam in both oceans and the gulf, walked in the snow, ate hot dogs around a campfire, you get the picture.
But this vacation was different. This trip with our granddaughter was all about her, from beginning to end. And in watching her have fun, I have to admit that I had a great time! No wine bar, no fancy dinners, no great museums. Just sand and more sand, and water and the throwing of sand and the rolling in sand and the jumping of waves and the making of sand castles and the endless fascination that only a four year old can bring to the table.
She had a blast!
PS: Karen and I share the joy of this particular grandchild. And she is a grandmother I admire! I thought of her particularly (and Peggy as well) when I read this poignant post.
