All grandparents know that grandchildren are more fun than children! That’s a given. For me, that lesson was revisited this weekend when our granddaughters Ava (8) and Natalie (5) convinced us to set up the trains, an activity that typically does not occur until the Christmas tree goes up in MID-DECEMBER. A little begging goes a long way. Plus, since they have been out of state/country for 7 years, we are very easily influenced now, especially with the magic of Christmas right around the corner.
A couple of life lessons ensued.
First, after getting the trains set up, I noted a more relaxed nature on my part versus when my own daughters were little. Back then I was always the uptight “conductor”. This time around, I turned that job over to Ava and instead I sat in an adjacent room where I could still enjoy watching them play. I was less fussed about something getting “wrecked.” I figured, “What is the worst that can happen?” Nothing did. A little maturity and parental seasoning goes a long way.
I was also struck by the dynamism of the girls unsupervised and unstructured play time. Without any video games, or iPads, they were enthralled with the little “village” they created, as the trains took their make believe character figurines to and from destinations that could be reached by the tracks. They led the activities – inspired by their own imaginations, which were quite vivid. Most of my own childhood playtime was spent this way, or with friends on the sandlots. It was a brief return to a simpler time.
Nothing investment oriented in here – just a few casual Monday observations.
Bob Bilkie, CFA®