Just being Grandma…

Sometimes, just being Grandma is great.

Wednesday, for instance, is just such a time. 3-year-old Arthur is staying with me for an hour or two while little sister is at nursery and mummy is in a meeting.
On arrival, Arthur informs me that,
“Grandma! I have growed…look!” (I only saw him yesterday.) I act suitably impressed. We establish that he is well on the way to being as tall as daddy.
Once mummy has left, we watch several episodes of Ninja Turtles,
“You have to watch this bit, Grandma, there is an awesome jump in a minute…”
and I have been made to sit on the floor and wheel a bus around while he makes two tiny ninja turtles jump onto it,
“Not like that, Grandma…like this.”
I get it right in the end. Cousin Elliott has given him the turtles apparently. We have had a variety of interesting conversations about turtles and super powers when Arthur decides he needs to visit the loo. This will not be a short trip.
Sitting there, on the kiddy’s toilet seat, the latter being decorated with brightly coloured fish, Arthur reaches out for my hand. I realise this is to prevent me from leaving. This is obviously to be a social occasion.
We spend a short time contemplating life, while he sits there. I think we have covered the origins of the universe and other trivia when he tells me,
“Grandma, I have a Cars seat at home,”
“Do you?”
“Yes, if I don’t have it, I have to hold on, so I won’t fall in,” there is a pause while he considers this fact, “Elliott doesn’t have a Cars seat but he doesn’t hold on either.”
“Doesn’t he?”
“No, and he doesn’t fall in, Elliott is very brave,” he decides gravely.
I smile, “I am sure you can be very brave too,” I tell him.
There is a long pause during which, Arthur sighs and shrugs his shoulders.
“I just don’t know how to be brave yet, Grandma,” he tells me.
“I am sure you will get brave soon,” I insist.
He nods,
“Yes, when I am bigger I will, Grandma, but I just don’t know how to be brave at the moment,”
(It is lucky he is using the kiddy’s toilet seat because his hands are spread wide now as he speaks.)

There is another pause as he eyes the bottle of green soap on the wash basin…
“Grandma, did they put peas in that soap?”
This makes me chuckle,
“I don’t think so, I think they put limes in it, limes are green,” I remark. There are limes on the label after all.
He is not convinced.
“No, Grandma. I think they put peas in it because peas are green,”

About 15 mins later, we make it out of the loo…

Yes, sometimes, just being Grandma is great.