The other day I took my four-year-old grandson out for lunch. Of my nine grandchildren, he’s the only one not in public school, so when I need a midday grandchild fix, he’s my guy.
“Where would you like to go?” I asked, listing several choices.
“McDonald’s, can we go to McDonald’s?” he squealed. Obviously, he doesn’t go there very often, I thought, and since spoiling grandchildren is the name of the game, off we went.
The car trip was less than five minutes, but Reese managed to squeeze in seven “thank yous” before we got there, four before we got into the car. I smiled back with the appropriate “you’re welcome,” happy that his parents had taught him well.
We enjoyed a cozy lunch together with four more “thank yous” cleverly worked into our conversation. After a couple bites, I realized I had forgotten the napkins. I headed toward the dispenser and grabbed a handful. Upon my return, I found Reese reaching across the table with his finger on top of my crispy chicken wrap. It had started to unravel so Reese was using his finger to keep it in place.
Okay, so at four years old, he has mastered politeness, consideration, and problem solving. Could he be any more amazing, asks his totally objective grandma?
After our lunch, arriving back at my daughter’s house, Reese opened the back door to let the dog out. Rosie is a two-year-old border collie/beagle mix who is sweet as pie but hasn’t learned her boundaries yet. I gasped as I remembered that the gate to the deck was open. I bolted out the door expecting to chase Rosie halfway to the next town.
But Rosie was sitting calmly on the deck. Reese had remembered to shut the gate first.
When I came back into the kitchen, my relief was palpable. Reese ran over and hugged me, immediately sizing up the situation and apologized for scaring me. And then he thanked me again for taking him to McDonald’s.
I hugged him back wondering under what cabbage leaf in the magical land of fairies my daughter had found this kid.
I have no doubt that if I searched the Internet for a definition of sweetness, I’d find a picture of Reese staring back at me with a smile on his face and arms extended for a hug.
Grandchildren? Yes, they really are the best.
