.

I'm Gonna Be A Grandfather!

Well it's official, I am going to be a grandfather everyone, and I have to say I am even more excited than I imagined I would be! There are some skeptics who will argue, "Derek, in order for a person to become a grandparent they must first have a kid who must then also have at least one kid." To which I would reply: "A. "Kids" are what goats have. And B. It's true actually having grandchildren is a large part of being a grandparent; HOWEVER, an even more important part of grandfatherness is the having and telling stories." To which the skeptics would have no choice but bow thier pride in humble defeat.

So if we are weakly basing grandfather status on the simple and obvious physical aspects, then it's true I fall short. On the other hand, if we are more completely and not so superficially considering the grandparent figure as one with incredibly relevant and entertaining stories, then I may well be more of a grandfather than some of your own biological grandparents.

It might be the first time my round-the-world trip really sunk in. I had been back in the States for about a week and was visiting some recent Flagstafrican transplants on Vashon Island, just outside of Seattle. My friends, the Wilks, have three small children who were walking us down a beautiful green path to a park overlooking the Sound. At one point, my other friend (dc) who flew to Portland to drive back with me, was explaing to the young boy (5 yrs) how I had ridden an elephant. Which in turn opened up a disbelieving can of questions.

I explained how an elephant would rock back and forth as it walked. How it would scratch its leathery skin on the rough bark of tree trunks. How I would carry bananas to reward an eager trunk for being well behaved. I explained what it was like to pet a tiger, the ins and outs of camel riding, and what baby monkeys are like. Then at the peak of story time, I saw a different grandfather telling one of many cool stories to an amazed little redheaded grandson.

That's when I realized something big had just happened. Funny how it takes a five year old boy to make things snap into place, to realize just how larger than life an elephant is, or how crazy monkeys are, or how wirery the hair of a camel is. Sometimes all it takes is a 5 year old reminder to realize just how big and cool this amazing world is. And I'll tell you what else is cool, especially when you have grandparents as sweet as mine, is realizing that at the tender age of 29 you are in pretty much every way but one that you are a grandfather. I've heard it said before that being a grandparent is even better than being a parent, and while I've never actually been a parent, I gotta agree.

posted by Travelin' D @ 3:00 PM