"Me and My Shadow"

As I watched Danica follow Clay around for several hours yesterday, "helping" him hang the Christmas lights, it brought to mind the many, many other similar occasions I have been a witness to in the last 4+ years. Clay and Danica have been best buddies from the very beginning. I don't mind not being the favorite grandparent because I had a similar relationship with my grandpa and those memories are very precious to me.

This little munchkin got ahold of our hearts the moment we saw her.

Clay got used to doing whatever he needed to while having a baby hanging onto him.

Whatever Grandpa was eating, Danica had to have some of it.

He taught her the value of work.

Any time he was holding still, he was fair game to become a lounge chair, or a jungle gym, or a trampoline, or whatever piece of furniture or playground equipment Danica could use him for.

He taught her to dance at the Hillbilly Hoedown.

She insists on helping Grandpa on any project he is doing.

They enjoyed making gingerbread men.

She is always willing to help him with the gardening and yard work.

Her first driving lesson.

She can talk him into anything -- even playing dress up.

"Let's race, Grandpa!" They have great fun at the playground.


Which brings us back to yesterday. Danica had a blast helping Clay look for Christmas decorations. Exploring the attic with Grandpa was a big adventure to her!

I'll finish up with a few quotes I found on being a grandparent:

I don't intentionally spoil my grandkids. It's just that correcting them often takes more energy than I have left. ~Gene Perret

Grandparents are similar to a piece of string - handy to have around and easily wrapped around the fingers of their grandchildren. ~Author Unknown

If I had known how wonderful it would be to have grandchildren, I'd have had them first. ~Lois Wyse

Our grandchildren accept us for ourselves, without rebuke or effort to change us, as no one in our entire lives has ever done, not our parents, siblings, spouses, friends - and hardly ever our own grown children. ~Ruth Goode