On My Toes

Rick and I had an interesting discussion about our grandparents the other day. We started talking about how interactive our grandparents were with us when we stayed at their houses. We concluded that even though we spent time with them, maybe watching TV, having a meal or going to a special place most of the time we spent with our cousins or entertaining ourselves.  This conversation was prompted by a weekend visit from our grandkiddos. The older ones are 6 and 4 and require a lot of interaction/activities and are constantly on the go. They love the outdoors and anything that involves running, jumping, rolling, stomping.....their energy level is high. And I love it! I love seeing them run and laugh, but I also love seeing them sleep. They do not nap anymore, but are used to an early bedtime, so getting baths and settling down for a movie in the evening is the bees knees. And we do try to do something fun with them, like a picnic at the park or trip to the bouncy place at the mall or the indoor pool, so that their time with us is not dragging and we are making memories. But, we realized that our grandkiddos rarely go off by themselves to color or play (loved doing that at my grandparents' house) or just hang out with Kari or Noah. I sometimes feel that I constantly need to suggest the next fun activity for them to engage in when they are visiting. But, I do not want them to be off by themselves the whole time they are here because I want them to remember making cupcakes at MoMo and Granddad's or shooting cans off the porch with Nerf guns or making gingerbread houses at Christmas time. I want them to fondly remember the time they spent with us, like we do when we remember spending time with our grandparents. I just wish I didn't feel like I have to be on my toes so much when they are here. LOL