7QT: That Papa and Grammy Life

I haven't done a Friday 7 Quick Takes link-up post in a dog's age; but now that I've deleted all of the social media accounts that were taking up WAY too much of my time, I seem to have a lot more time for blogging. Which leads me to my first Take...

Take 1

I'm finished with social media, for a whole lot of reasons.  I was becoming increasingly alarmed about the way Big Tech is tracking individuals and trying to end free speech in America, and that was definitely the primary reason that I wanted to get as "off the grid" as possible.  But I was also just concerned about the increasing amount of time I was spending in scroll mode.  I mean, I had grown really, really attached (read: addicted) to Instagram.  I deleted Facebook first, and then Twitter and LinkedIn; however, I dragged my feet a bit when it came to saying good-bye to my favorite platform.  But I finally did it.  I broke up with Instagram, and it was initially a little painful.  Yet to my surprise, I haven't really missed it as much as I thought I would.

Take 2

Last week, our fourth-born son's wife, Braveheart, and her four little ones (triplets--identical twin boys and a girl, aged 3 and 1/2--plus their little 14-month-old baby sister) came to our house for their weekly playdate. Our other local daughters-in-law were not able to join us, as they have pre-school and kindergarten drop-off and pick-up schedules to deal with.  But so far, the triplets are not in school; and their mom really needs to have some social events to look forward to each week, to give the kids (and her, too) a much-needed change of scenery.  So for her, it almost always works out to come over for lunch and playtime sometime between Monday and Friday while her hubby is at work

Braveheart tells us that just about every day the triplets wake up and ask if they're going to "Papa-Grammy's" house. (They usually just call us both Papa, because to them we are joined at the hip and share one long name, and Papa is easier to say.)  Their eagerness to see us is about the sweetest thing my husband and I can imagine.  And we hope they always love to visit us as much as they do now. 

Take 3

So last Thursday, that crazy little gang of four was at our house from about 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.  At one point, just after lunch, I noticed that Paquita was sitting on the floor looking at some of the children’s books that we keep in a basket just off the kitchen area.   And then much to my delight, I realized that she was flipping through her Grammy's illustrated My Little ABC Book, which I self-published in 2019 as a gift for her and her many cousins.  If that doesn't fit the bill of dreams coming true for me, I don't know what does. 

On my honor, I did not set up this photo.  That really is the book she chose to "read."

Take 4

When we moved to VA in 2017, we didn't want a fixer-upper. Not at this late stage of the game, and not after the more than two decades we'd spent doing DIY projects in the NH home we left behind.  We bought a house that was pretty much move-in ready, with the exception of needing the stained and worn-out upstairs carpeting removed and replaced with a more allergy-friendly wood laminate.  We thought that eventually we would want to finish off the basement and make a big, light-filled playroom for the grandkids.  But we didn't do it right away.  We hired a contractor to put in a full bathroom down there,  but otherwise we lived with it the way it was for a while.

Our older grandchildren did play happily in the basement for a couple of years, hardly taking note of the lack of walls and a ceiling and ignoring the exposed furnace, hot water heater, and many boxes and bins in the storage area. Finally, though, the issue became making it safe and child-proof: with the triplets and a few of their cousins entering the ever-more-curious toddler years, we decided it was time to get the job done.  My husband did all the electrical and lighting work himself, and he was planning to frame and finish all the walls; but we thought we'd hire someone to tackle the ceiling.  However, we weren't able to find anyone available to do it for us, so we decided that my favorite handyman (my husband!) would do it, with me helping out in any way I could.

The former owners had put up one wall (on the right in this picture), and they'd installed a vinyl floor.  But otherwise, the basement was completely unfinished and my husband had his work cut out for him.

Take 5 

We were moving along with the project in late 2019, slowly but surely, whenever my husband had time off from work. But then in early 2020, airplanes stopped flying overseas, and you can't be an international airline pilot and work from home; with all of his trips cancelled, all of a sudden my husband had all the free time he needed to concentrate on our pet project.  I guess I can thank the Covid pandemic for giving us so much time at home together to get the work done (#unexpectedblessings).  By springtime, we had a beautifully finished-off basement with a giant playroom, a storage/sewing and crafting area that could be locked to keep the little ones out, and a small guest bedroom.

Take 6

We are so pleased with the way it all turned out!  The grandkids love it down there.  The playroom is stocked with an impressive collection of toys--many of them vintage favorites kept from when their daddies were little, and others purchased the past few years at thrift stores, Goodwill, and other places.  (I mean, with 9 granddaughters, I needed to get some dolls and dollhouses--two items which we never had in our all-boy house back in the day.)  We still have a vast collection of children's books, too, from when our boys were growing up.  Many of them are about dinosaurs, our boys' childhood obsession.  

It must be hereditary; we have a few grandsons who are completely dinosaur-obsessed these days.

Take 7

Nothing makes Papa and Grammy happier than seeing this new generation of Pearls enjoying some of the same toys their daddies played with and reading some of the same books their daddies read (and oh yes, their Grammy's ABC Book, too!).  And nothing tickles us more than seeing the basement playroom we "made" for them being put to good use.  We know that all the time we spent down there, covered in construction dust and paint splatters, was well worth it, when we see it filled with our favorite little people on the planet.

I guess I'm out of Takes already!  Before I sign off, I'm going to add some recent photos taken of me with a handsome little fella who is the youngest of my 17 grandchildren.  I used to dread my children growing up and leaving me.  I used to fear growing old.  But now I am grateful that those two things happened, because otherwise I would never know the unique joy of being a grandmother.  And I think you can plainly see that joy in these two pictures!

That's all for this Grammy.  For more, head on over to the 7QT party at Kelly's.