Joyful Revelation!

So here I am, freshly showered, feet aching and tired to the bone.  An even better way to describe it would be “spent.”  What a day.  A full day at Universal Studios Islands of Adventure Theme Park. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is open you know.  And this is my niece’s 18^th birthday and Hogwart’s is where she wanted to go. Whatever Mimi wants, Mimi gets. Don’t get me wrong – she is truly spoiled.  But she’s not a brat.  She’s earned everything she gets because she’s responsible, generous, loving, supportive and accountable. She’s a wonderful girl.  And I’m so glad we came this weekend despite the 95 degree temperatures, the 98 percent humidity and the constant threat of rain.  Not only did I have a wonderful time with my husband, my sister, her 2 kids and her 4-year old grandson, Felix, I officially moved into the world of “Grandparents.”

It was quite a revelation actually.  And I’m not just talking about the fact that we were always walking well behind the younger folks.  When you’re the parent, or the managing aunt as in my case, you’re the one who has to calm down the kids, keep them happy, carry them when they’re tired, coax them to stop whining, handle their tantrums and on and on and on.  But all that’s changed now. See now there’s grown people between me and the 4-year old and I don’t have to do any of that responsible stuff anymore. I can just have fun, I can enjoy taking Felix on the rides, listen to the sound of his laughter, loving every moment of it. And as soon as I hear the slightest whimper, Dad takes over.  It’s perfect.  All the joy, all the love, all the laughter, none of the parenting.

With that kind of generational progress, can handing off hosting Thanksgiving dinner be far behind?  Welcome to the next phase. I think I’m going to like it here.