Turning What You Love into What You Do
By Patrick J. O’Connor
~An entry from “You Can’t Make This Stuff Up”~
One of the cool things about this Boomer place we’re in is, we can turn what we love into what we do. One way we do this is loving our children and grandchildren. They give us lots of Fluttery Feeling moments. Regular readers will recall the Fluttery Feeling is when everything seems to go exactly as intended. No concept of time… no boundaries, just thriving in the magical moment. This segment celebrates those moments, focusing on grandchildren.
Sue and I have four children and four granddaughters. We all know the funny things kids say and do. One of the first examples of this was when our little son Patrick asked me to make him some “friend’s toast” for breakfast. As parents, we chuckle at the way they hear the everyday words we say without a second thought. Their innocence is so precious.
A friend once told me that being a parent is like watching yourself grow up. I think she was right. We carry these special, memorable moments around with us. They capture a time in our lives we love which goes by much too quickly. I heard someone say about parenting, “the days are long, and the years are short.”
“Mama”
In many ways, our children and grandchildren capture our world in their own. The best example of this is when children learn to say “mama.” The first word children in almost every culture learn and say, regardless of their native language, is “mama.” It’s almost intrinsic. Babies typically sound out the first letter in a word they hear and repeat it. Parents keep telling their infants to say “daddy” and “mommy.” That’s where mama and dada come from.
This also applies to grandparents’ names and how they happen. In our case, our first grandchild is our son Patrick’s Olivia. He would say her grandmother was G-ma. Olivia heard G and repeated it as babies do. So, Sue became GG or GiGi, a name which she loves. I know a few other grandmothers who are also called GiGi by their little ones. Somehow, I became Pop-Pop.
Olivia was joined by three more granddaughter cousins, and to them, we were already GiGi and Pop-Pop. I guess the first grandchild gets to name the grandparents. Our newest grandchild Kennedy just turned 1, so she’s mainly given us lots of smiling, cooing and giggling thus far. And boy, do her big sisters, parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins love her!
A Few Fluttery Examples
The things our children and grandchildren say and do stay in our memory because they’re just so funny and Fluttery. They stick with us for life. Here are a few examples:
Olivia
Olivia was 3 when she coined a phrase we still say today. Anytime we arrived at our destination she would say, “We made it!” We all laughed because she was implying maybe we wouldn’t have made it. It was so funny, we still say it today each time we arrive somewhere with or without Olivia, who is now 16. “We made it.”
Chloe
Our 8-year-old granddaughter Chloe (now 12) noticed a clothesline in our neighbor’s backyard. These used to be very common but are rarely used anymore. Chole had never seen a clothesline, so she asked if she could play on “that zipline over there?” Each time we see that clothesline now we call it a zipline.
Here’s one more. We all love grits with our breakfast. Chloe once heard grits and said “grips”. Of course, now we always enjoy “grips” with our breakfast.
Morgan
Our granddaughter Morgan was 5 (now 9) when she came to visit us from sunny Florida. Like most people in Ohio, we have an ice scraper (or two) in each vehicle for snow and ice removal.
When we picked everyone up at the airport, Morgan spotted something she’d never seen. She asked us “what is that thing?” We said it’s an ice scraper, to which she replied, “why would you want a skyscraper in your car?” Of course, all ice scrapers are now called skyscrapers.
Kennedy
All of us O’Connors are waiting for little Kennedy to share her Fluttery funnies with us. We have no idea what they will be, but we know they will be as special as all the other wonderful memories our children and grandchildren have given us. Stay tuned as parents Ryan and Ashley share them with us.
Sharing?
We have shared our interesting stories with our family and friends. As a result, they too start repeating the words we learn from our children and grandchildren. So, the next time you have breakfast, enjoy your “grips”with your “friend’s toast.” Keep your “skyscraper” handy for ice removal. No need to zipline on your neighbor’s clothesline, and whenever you arrive at any destination, be sure to all say together, “We made it!”
I once heard, “If I’d known grandkids were this great, I would have had them first.” I suspect many readers have similar memories to share. Please offer some in the comments section below so other readers can enjoy them. I know I will.
Photo courtesy the O’Connor family
