Being Five-Point-Five

Dear George,

I’m recently back from a six-day trip to New Orleans, visiting J and K and my grandkids, V and L.  It’s difficult being a long-distance grandparent.  When we’re all together, it’s engrossing and enjoyable, but then it’s another four or five months before we see the kids again.  V and L are now five and a half.  Each time we get together they’re more noticeably grown up – physically, mentally, verbally, socially.  Currently I’d say they are about twenty percent adult.  (Hmm…maybe fifteen percent.)  Things the children and I now share in common include liking dogs and rabbits, ice cream, Mickey Mouse and Batman, Raisin Bran cereal and tacos, hiking in the park, hitting tennis balls, knock knock jokes, and playing checkers and Crazy Eights.  In general, the children are more excitable than the adults, more easily distressed, more curious, more energetic, and more bewildered at times.  They laugh more, cry more, and sleep more deeply.  They’re much more proficient at Spanish (since they go to kindergarten at a 100% Spanish immersion school).  And they’re continually busy learning all sorts of new things. All in all, being five and a half is a remarkable time of life.  Here are some photos of L and V’s activities that I took during my trip.  This is a mere glimpse of what being five and a half is like.

Love,

Dave 

This is V at the age of five

She’s knows how to do many things

You can see that V loves being alive

It’s almost as if her heart sings

L is exactly the same age as V

He can be both serious and funny

All agree that L’s a sweet pea

It’s because his nature’s so sunny

The children love outings to City Park

They hike on the trail to Rock Mountain

Trips to the park are such a lark

Though they don’t let you wade in the fountain

L and V zoomed up in their plane

They traveled for one-point-two miles

They didn’t go all the way to Spain

But they got off with most happy smiles

V’s new bunny is Olivia Rosehop

Her dad built a very strong hutch

Rosehop, I think, is a Mini-Lop

Her fur is so soft to the touch

We went for a hike on Coutourie Trail

V found there a coconut shell

She asked a man if he’d give her his snail

Amazing, that snail didn’t smell

I’d say this rocket could fly to the moon

V and L are all ready to go

The blast-off is scheduled for half past noon

Hey Mom, can you give us some dough?

L and V like to climb up the trees

They’re not even frightened so high

You have to admire such climbers as these

Some day they’ll climb up to the sky

Iko is full of vigor and vim

He races round the yard at top speed

I took many walks round the block with him

On every bush he has peed

Checkers is not so easy to play

But the children are getting quite good

In fact L beat me the other day

Who ever imagined he would?

Our bumper cars gave us huge thrills

We crashed into one another

We collided so hard it gave me the chills

But it didn’t scare V or her brother

Each week L and V go to Sunday School

Their teacher’s name is Miss Sue

L and V always follow the rule

Miss Sue tells them just what to do

L and V got into a bucket of slime

It whirled so fast they got dizzy

The children reported they had a great time

It’s because their noodles were frizzy

L shows great promise at tennis

His forehand gets better each week
L might be a tennis menace

He's not yet close to his peak   

On Thursday V tried on a very fine wig

She hoped she would look like a doozy

I’m afraid that her wig was a little too big

Not a doozy though V did look woozy

The kids took a ride on the merry-go-round

They each had a very fine steed

The horses rose very high off the ground

V and L were great riders indeed

On Wednesday L lost his first tooth

A dollar got rid of his pains

Losing a tooth is a highlight of youth

It shows you that losses can be gains 

V and L zoomed down the slide

They went at a high rate of speed

It looked to me like a most scary ride

But these kids are brave sliders indeed

V fell asleep right on her dad’s hat

His head was a good place to rest

She slept as soundly as an Angora cat

Riding home on dad’s head is the best

G-mail Comments

-Terry O-S (4-2):  Soon you need to send this book to your grandchildren.  (A. A. Milne, “Now We Are Six”)

-JML (4-2):  That's wonderful dad. Can't wait to read it to them later today. Muchas gracias!!