Author Archive
As the doc closed the file…
The Rookie seems to spend more time of late talking to (and paying) doctors… hopefully this will be the very last comment from a doctor about The Rookie :-)
Only 1 tree in the backyard…
While The Rookie is OK with grandsons being taught to urinate on trees outside, the brain gears locked up when grandson watered the “Auburn tree” (a child of the Toomer’s Oaks) in the backyard :-)
No age counting…
Tip from The Rookie: While it’s really nice to get a call from the grandchildren on your birthday, don’t ask them to count up to your age… when they build up that much momentum, they keep on counting right on past your year :-)
Avoid the Orange store…
Tip from The Rookie: Taking two grandchildren to Home Depot is two too many, unless you need to catch up on your wind sprints. :-)
Word problem…
Here’s a word problem… if Granny has an iPad and an iPod Touch, and The Rookie has an Android tablet, and Granny goes out of town and takes both her devices with her, what happens when the two grandsons come to visit The Rookie and want to play “gamey”?
Answer: Whatever software-driven quests and contests going on inside the tablet are rather tame compared to the test of strength and wills going on outside the tablet. :-)
Stay monster-free…
Tip from The Rookie: Monsters do not live at the grandparents house!! Had a visit from Mom and youngest grandson about 10pm the other night where “the sticker monster” had inserted a sticker up into grandson’s nose where it could not be retrieved. Got him calmed down enough over here where there are no monsters to retrieve it without a trip to the ER :-)
The Imaginary Grandson…
Grandson #3 is coming soon and The Rookie keeps hearing about the new guy’s bed, toys, diapers, etc. and Imaginary Grandson #3 is already part of the group… here’s a recent scenario where the oldest grandson is F, the soon-to-be-middle grandson is S, and the to-be-youngest grandson is Imaginary P:
– F is pushing Imaginary P on the swing (conservatively, since F doesn’t like to swing very high)
– S says “Higher, Higher, Higher!” (since S lives for danger and wants to swing as high as possible)
– F starts pushing Imaginary P on the swing higher and higher
– Suddenly S says “Imaginary P fell out of the swing! Imaginary P is HURT!!” and starts crying
– F says “You made me push him higher!” and starts crying
– Mom gets involved: “What is going on out here???”
– F and S (together and sobbing): “Imaginary P fell out of the swing and he is HURT!!”
– Mom says “No, P is still right here in Mommy’s tummy. You guys calm down”
– F and S (still whimpering): “OK” :-)
Don’t go there…
Tip from The Rookie: Check diaper prior to placing grandchild on shoulders… “gross” is not an expressive enough term for a misstep :-)
Crawled upon?
The Rookie has faced deadline pressure many times before, but has only recently been literally crawled all over while trying to download the Amazon AppStore on his tablet to then download Plants vs. Zombies :-)
Papa
The Rookie remembers the grandparent of his children who started a new life yesterday. Papa loved helping others, especially his thirteen grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. 