Grandchildren Visiting

Phew! I delivered a boatload of grandchildren to
the dock this morning. Now I can hear the whisper
of the wind in the spruce, the splash of waves
against the rocks at high tide and the calls of
gulls on distant ledges. It's a peaceful world again.

Next it's time to gather the exoskeletons of
innumerable marine creatures and return them to
the sea. There are snails, lobster parts, mussel
shells and scallop shells around. It's probably
just as well the grandchildren aren't nearby to
hear what I have to say about stepping on a snail
with my bare feet on a rug. The vacuum cleaner
doesn't care for these objects, either and
complains about as loudly as I when it finds one.

The lost and found department isn't too busy this trip.
That's probably more a result of parental diligence than
child responsibility, however. So far, the only item of
significance is a bike helmet which was carefully hung
in the garage. That makes me think it's an adult
possession. What grandchild would have hung it?

In outdoor mischief, I note only that my pile of project
bricks has been disturbed. Just a couple were broken
when the pile was tipped. Fortunately, no children were
behind the pile when it tumbled or more than bricks
might have been broken.

In my kitchen I find a pile of fancy table napkins with
little pictures of smiling bugs on them. Maybe that's what
it takes to get children to wipe their faces nowadays. But
bugs are bugs to me even when they're smiling. The cutsey
firefly and ladybug are innocuous enough but I just can't
bring myself to wipe my face with a tomato worm even if it's
smiling at me. I'll go back to my old standby, paper towels.

They'll be back in a month and I look forward to that. The
simple affections of a couple two year olds are a special
delight which is all too fleeting in life. So they'll
return with their dolls and with their hugs and I'll be on
the dock to greet them.