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Grandparents, Love and Introductions
Angie darted around the dining room, her camo shorts swishing with every move. She tucked a curl back into her ponytail and glanced up at her father, who had a serious expression etched on his face as he scrolled through his phone.
"That's not a case, is it?" she asked with a quizzical look.
Steve pocketed the phone and shook his head. "No, it's Uncle Duke about the one we closed right before I got home. We both got out early today, so I'm all yours."
"Yay," she said, "so can we work on what I'm going to say about Grandma, Grandpa, and Grandma Ang when they visit my class? I'll tell you and you can write it down for me, because we can use cards if we want, Ms. Lane said. I might not use them, but Mommy thinks it's a good idea to make 'em just in case."
"Of course, baby girl." He took a seat at the dining room table, where Catherine had left a stack of oversized index cards before she ran out to do some errands. "What do you want to say?"
Angie hopped onto the seat next to him. "I need to tell everyone about how they're the best."
"Perfect," he said with a kiss to her temple. "Who do you want to do first?"
"Grandma," she said without hesitation. "I have to say how she's so fun, and very very smart. She was a professor and she runs Tutor Time and she makes great cookies and plays games with me and DJ. Grandma tells great stories and she looks just like me and Mommy and she's the best grandma in the whole world."
Steve chuckled, nodding. "Got it. Great job. How about Grandpa?"
Angie tilted her head, a thoughtful expression on her face. "He's the best grandpa. He takes me and DJ to the park and museums and he teaches us so much fun stuff and he's tall and can tie like a million knots and when he was in the Navy he was in charge of all the sailors on the whole ship and he helps people at Pearl and veterans. And he makes special home fries and reads stories with all the voices and we go hiking a lot. "
"That's definitely Grandpa. Do you want to say he's a retired Captain, too?" Steve suggested, smiling at her enthusiasm.
Her eyes widened. "Oh! Yes! I'll def'nitely say that." She bounced a little in her seat. "Now, let's do Grandma Ang! I can say how she's Mommy's grandma so she's me and DJ's great grandma. She's from Chicago, Illinois and met our Great Grandpa Rocks playing baseball when she was a kid. She cooks really good stuff and gives the best hugs and she calls me and Mommy her girls," she giggled, "even though Mommy's a grown up. We look at her picture albums from back in the day and she loves me and DJ so much. " She took a breath. "And Grandma Ang loves the Cubs and BINGO and she taught us Rummikub and always wins all the games she plays."
Steve laughed. "She'll love hearing that."
Angie's eyes, so much like Catherine's in everything but color, sparkled. She threw her arms up, her excitement palpable. "I'm gonna make a special poster with pictures, too!"
"That sounds like a plan," he said.
"First I want to practice, though."
"Okay, let's practice your introductions. Imagine they're all sitting in front of you."
Angie nodded and took a deep breath. "Hi friends, I'm very excited to tell you about my grandma. Her name is Elizabeth, like my middle name, and she's the best grandma…" she went through her introduction, adding, "And she buys me goat stuff because she knows I love goats."
Steve clapped. "Great job! What comes next?"
Angie beamed and continued "Then, I'll say, 'This is my grandpa, his name is Joseph and he is a retired Captain in the Navy and he's so fun…'"
"Perfect!" Steve encouraged when she finished. "One more."
"Grandma Ang!" Angie bubbled, "This is my Grandma Ang. I'm Angie, but my name is Angeline Elizabeth, and Angeline is for her, because it's her name, too, I'm very very happy I have her and my Grandma's same names because I love them so much…'"
"Perfect, baby girl."
"I want everyone to know how awesome they are."
"They definitely will," he said.
"If I forget something, I'll just add it at the end."
"That's my girl. Thinking on your feet." He kissed her cheek. "Now, how about you start your poster?"
"Yes!" she exclaimed, jumping up to grab supplies and he followed.
When they returned to the table with poster board, colorful paper, scissors, and markers, he asked, "What do you want to start with?" he asked.
"I want to make a heart for everyone! DJ showed me how to draw good hearts. And I'll draw pictures of us doing fun stuff," The seven year old exclaimed. "And Mommy printed out pictures." she pointed to the stack of images on the far side of the table.
"Perfect. What color do you want for Grandma?"
"Pink!" she responded, already rifling through the assorted markers. "And red for Grandpa. And Grandma Ang can be blue for the Cubs."
"Good choices," Steve agreed, as she selected a pink marker and drew a large heart. "What's next?"
Angie leaned over the table, her little fingers clutching a glittery pen. "I want to write their names inside their hearts and add some sparkles. Ooops!" She accidentally tipped some glitter onto the table. "I'll clean it up."
"I'll help," Steve said, smiling as he grabbed a piece of construction paper and swept the stray glitter onto it.
"You're very good at glitter cleaning, Daddy."
He chuckled thinking of Grace and Joanie at Angie's age. "I have experience."
As he helped her work on the poster, she carefully selected pictures and used a glue stick to add them to the hearts. Angie, Grandma Ang and DJ hugging and saying 'cheese!' after a recent BINGO game at the senior center; Elizabeth at the Tutor Time party wearing a black and orange Halloween top; Joseph standing on the deck, spatula in hand, smiling as he grilled burgers.
"And this one's an extra one of Grandma and Grandpa on Halloween," she said as she glued a photo of them beaming at the camera after they saw the kids' costumes between Elizabeth and Joseph's hearts. "And I'm doing a part for Aunt Deb, Nonna and Grandpa John," she smiled at her father before drawing three hearts along the side of the poster and glued a photo of each inside.
"That's a great idea," Steve said with a small smile as he thought how much John would have loved the kids.
"Daddy?" Angie asked, her voice breaking through his thoughts.
"Yeah, baby girl?" he replied, glancing up.
"Can I tell you something?" she said, her expression suddenly serious.
"You can always tell me anything." He'd talked to Catherine about Angie's question earlier and knew at her look where she was going.
"I'm very very happy you have Grandma as your … what's it called again, when she's Mommy's mommy but she's like your extra mommy cause you married Mommy?"
"Mother in law," he provided and kissed her cheek.
"Yeah, that. Because Grandma loves you a lot. Know how I can tell?''
He took a breath, marveling at how perceptive she was. Just like Catherine. "How?"
"Because she gives you big hugs like she gives Mommy and she calls you honey and she smiles at you really big."
Steve shook his head. His little girl was nothing if not observant. "That's very true. And I'm happy Grandma loves me because I love her right back."
"Good. I know you're not sad because you don't have a Mommy, but you don't need to be because you have Grandma."
"I promise, I'm very happy. Do you know the number one reason? He asked.
"Me and DJ and Mommy!" she answered so confidently, his heart swelled.
"That's right."
"And Cammie and Pumpkin and Luna and Felix, too."
He grinned and glanced at where Cammie lifted her head at the sound of her name from where she was dozing next to both cats in a patch of sunlight.
"And Cammie and Pumpkin and Luna and Felix," he confirmed as Angie added the finishing touch on her poster.
"All done!" She said with a huge smile. "We're very lucky to have Grandma and Grandpa and Grandma Ang." She grinned, her face lighting up again. "And Nonna and Aunt Deb. I love them so much."
"I know you do," he replied, kissing her head. "And they love you right back."
As they began to clean up the art supplies, Cammie alerted, the door swung open, and Catherine entered, grocery bags in hand. "Hey," she nodded at Steve. "DJ's staying at Michael's for dinner, Nick said he'd drop him home at about eight." She looked at Angie. "How's the poster coming?"
"Come see it!" Angie squealed as Steve grabbed the bags and headed for the kitchen.
Catherine moved closer, gathering her up in a hug. "That looks amazing!"
"I drew hearts like DJ showed me and put the pictures in them."
"Wait til your brother sees, he's going to love it," she said, earning a huge smile from the seven year old. "And Grandma, Grandpa and Grandma Ang will be so excited; we'll take pictures and send them to Nonna and Aunt Deb, too."
Steve watched from the kitchen doorway as his wife and daughter went over the poster, Angie's excited chatter filling the house like music. He smiled, thinking, 'She included you, Dad, they both do,' with a look at the photo of John on the sideboard. Coming out of his thoughts at a loud giggle from his daughter, he pulled out his phone and stepped into the dining room.
"Say cheese!" he said.
"Cheese!" mother and daughter replied in unison, with identical smiles that ignited one of his own.
# End Thanks for Reading
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