TALES FROM THE BOBBI LAMA

Yesterday I had the most wonderful afternoon with my 12-year-old grandson, and it had been a while since I was that “high on happy.” You know how that feels when your heart feels so full? I had given him money for Christmas and offered to take him shopping to spend it as soon as he would be out of school and on vacation. I called it “A POYOP Day.” (Pick Out Your Own Present). Silly, but it made us laugh. I was so excited to have the opportunity to have the whole afternoon with him, especially after not being able to spend much extended time with him over the past few years due to my husband’s health issues with chemo and then Covid. He was excited, too, and was outside ready to jump into my car when I pulled up.

We went in and out of most relevant stores of the local mall discovering the high cost of everything and stopping only to have lunch. He was so grateful and thanked me so often and for everything. (He is one of the most thoughtful kids I know, and not just because he’s my grandson.) He hugged me often and told me how happy he was that I was doing this for him, which was making me feel so loved and appreciated. And I let him know how much I loved him and was so impressed with his kindness.

We came home and we baked, decorated, and ate Christmas cookies. He wrapped the present he had purchased for his mom, which had taken him quite a while to find because, in his words, “It had to be meaningful.” (Love this kid!) He helped me clean out the toy buckets from when he was little (declaring the old basketball and several tennis balls to be dead), and we ended up finding a fishing pole in the garage so he could go fishing in a pond near my backyard. The truth is, it wouldn’t have mattered what we did. It was spending time together, bonding the young and the old…with no conflict (the luxury of a grandparent.) Both of us were feeling happy and special just because of the dedicated and caring time we gave each other… a true Christmas gift for us both.