Wake up Grandpa!!

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Wake up, Grandpa!

Many years ago, our three granddaughters visited us for the afternoon. Grandma and I always enjoyed their company. Their names are Hannah, Robin and Madeline.

One visit they said, “Grandpa, let’s do some magic tricks.,”

“OK. Let’s get out some rope. Cut it in pieces. Then put it together again.”

It was a great trick and we all practiced it.

“Grandma, Grandpa, I know how to make a coin bounce off the walls and end up under my foot,” said one of our granddaughters.

“Really!” we said!

“Yes. Here it is in my left hand. Now I’ll slip it into my right hand. Now I’ll throw it around the room…….Now, I’ll lift up my foot and what do you see there?”

“The coin!! How did you do that?” Grandma and I were amazed.

“That’s my secret!” she laughed.

Grandma said, “Now it’s time for some special cookies I’ve just baked,”

The girls all chatted away. My eyelids felt heavier and heavier. Finally, I fell asleep!

After a while, I heard three voices calling out, “Wake up, Grandpa! Wake up Grandpa! Wake up, Grandpa!”

“What’s that, what’s that?” I said, opening my eyes and pretending to be very surprised.

Hannah, Robin and Madeline all laughed.

So from then on, whenever they came by, I made sure I’d pretend to fall asleep. And they’d all call out, “Wake up, Grandpa! Wake up Grandpa! Wake up, Grandpa!”

I’d pretend to wake up …surprised…and say: “What’s that? What’s that? What’s that?”.

Maybe you’d like to play the “Wake up, Grandpa!” game…. Or call it the “Wake up, Grandma!” game. Pretend to be Grandpa or Grandma and wake up with a pretend surprise.
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Grandchildren are like gold, aren’t they!
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Peas and Qs

“Let’s turn TV off and sit around the fire,” I said to our grandchildren.

Gerlinde, their Grandma, said, “That’s a great idea. I’ve made some hot chocolate and we can turn the lights off and enjoy the warm glow of the burning logs.”

“Yes, let’s do that,” our Grandchildren called out.

“I’ve got a puzzle for you to solve,” I said. “When I was a little boy, my mother would say to me: ‘Neil, watch your peas and Qs’. What do you think she meant?”

One of our grandchildren said, “Well, Grandpa, I know what peas are. We boil them up and eat them. So she meant you must make sure the peas don’t boil dry and spoil.”

“That’s a great answer…but…I’m afraid it’s not right! But it’s a good answer and has a lot of truth in it,” I smiled.

“I know the answer, Grandpa,” said another grandchild. “I think ‘Watch your peas’ means ‘watch them grow and feed them with water’”.

“That’s also a good answer with some good truth in it,” I said. “But it’s not the right answer. Please all keep trying.”

Gerlinde, their Grandma, went to the kitchen and got some peanut butter cookies and we all munched on them while we looked at the logs burning.

“Well, I’ll have a go at ‘Watch your Qs,” said another grandchild. “I think it means you must’nt push other people away, you should queue up politely and wait your turn.”

“That’s another great answer. You’ve all given me some very good answers, I’m very proud of you,” I said.

“So am I,” smiled Grandma.

“Grandpa, you’ve got to tell us the answer now,” they all shouted.

So I smiled and said,“ You see, ‘Watch your peas’ should be pronounced ‘Watch your please’. And ‘Q’s’ means ‘Thank You”. Thank you sounds like ‘Q’ “

“So my mother was saying to me, ‘Neil always say ‘please and thank you,’” I said.

Everyone laughed!

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How very important it is to say “please” and “thank you”.