Tuesday, March 21, 2006
Neighbors
When Ed and I offered a few acres of land to my parents so they could build a house and live next door, we considered all the downfalls of this particular situation. We prepared ourselves for a complete lack of privacy; constant, unannounced visits; requests for favors or help; the encroachment of their opinions into our personal matters, etc. To this day, we have not dealt with any of that. As a matter of fact, having my parents as neighbors has made our lives a lot easier and better in many ways. My Mom and I are constantly exchanging leftovers, entire entrees, desserts, bottles of liquor (for an occasional Cosmo), magazines, books, rented movies and clothes. Whenever my parents are headed to town, they call and ask if there is anything they can get for us while they are out (that's a big deal when town is 30 minutes away!). If we are going to be out of town for a couple of days, my Dad insists on taking care of our dog(s, now) and checks to make sure our house is locked up tight.
However, all of this pales in comparison to what they do for our boys. As you know, CJ is almost 5 years old ... what you don't know is that he has NEVER stayed with a babysitter. Yes, he did go to daycare when I worked, but I have never hired a babysitter to watch him while Ed and I go out for a night on the town. Which means Hunterman also has never had a babysitter. Unless you call Neicy and Repa (what the boys call my Mom and Dad) babysitters. My Mom calls me almost every other day to ask if the boys want to come down and play for a while. Every Friday, she calls and asks if she can keep one or both of the boys for the night (or sometimes, for the entire weekend). Obviously, I don't take her up on all the offers; I would never see my boys past 5 p.m. if I did. But it is nice to have a few minutes of quiet to fold clothes, watch a little news or read a few blogs. The boys are the ones that are really reaping the benefits, though. At Neicy and Repa's house they are constantly doing arts and crafts projects, going on magical adventures, playing ball, taking hikes, "helping" Repa build a piece of furniture or make a minor house repair, playing dress-up (yes, boys enjoy it, too -- esp. if they are "Superheroes"), cooking, playing with musical instruments (guitars, banjos, and fiddles -- real ones ... expensive ones), weaving on a real loom, picking flowers, making flower arrangements (shaking my head on that one, too), reading stories, searching for bugs and frogs, dancing ......... the list could go on and on.
Finally at 18 months, Hunterman is just as excited as CJ to go visit Neicy and Repa. He will go to our front door and point and call for Neicy when he's ready to escape from me. He excitedly follows Big Brother down the hill for a well-deserved visit and a much anticipated adventure. I sometimes worry that the boys are too much for my parents to handle, especially since they both work full-time jobs and deserve a life even more than I do. My Mom gets pissed at me when I bring this up and assures me that the boys always makes them feel younger and more vibrant. I kinda laugh 'cause they make me feel old and worn out!! I know the day is coming when I will need to find a "hired" babysitter, but who can ever live up to the expectations my little ones now have??
**The picture above is the entrance to the "Creek Path" in my parents' backyard. They have built a small bridge across the tiny creek that goes along their property line so that CJ and Hunterman can explore and watch all the "creatures" (sharks, lions, penguins) in the woods there.
1 Comments:
How wonderful to have your parents so close. My in-laws are only 1/4 mile down the road, but they are not that kind of Grands. We rarely see them, and when we do, it's strained. I feel bad for my kids because of what they are missing out on. But then Grammy and Pa come and all is well in their little worlds.
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