Grandsons visiting!

Here is a drawing my sixteen year old grandson made in the day and a half he visited us on his long weekend to look at Florida colleges. Diego arrived very late on Friday (we were asleep). He appeared in the morning, many hugs and kisses. We were so glad to see him after three months since the last sighting of him in Puerto Rico. After a decent interval of our questions and his answers about how he was and what he might expect from these few days of looking at colleges here that he might apply to, he drifted off to my studio where he feels comfortable. I knew that my art space would be his for the duration.

He's been here many times, and always spends the most time here where there are so many art materials - papers, inks, paints, cloth, and everything anyone could want. His productions are stellar. This time, he only really had a day to work.

He sits there at the big central table thinking for awhile. Then he starts to assemble his tools and materials. He knows where everything is. All the while I am working on my current quilt project. It is companionable- the elderly grandma and the young one. The large art table spills over with crayons, inks, scissors. Sometimes we talk and sometimes a friendly silence falls when you could hear only the whir of the sewing machine or the scratching of crayons on an interesting surface. We often listen to classical music.

Out of the corner of my eye I am watching how my grandson explores the media he has chosen, always thinking, always thinking, trying out various techniques. Sometimes we talk about what we are doing. Sometimes I direct him to some new art supply I have. Occasionally I ask him about his life and school. We discuss theater techniques and books and plays we have read, his family, his friends, details of life. He's sixteen, he never asks me anything about our lives, but he's so observant about all the tiny changes here since he last visited I can forgive his incuriousness about us. He knows we will always be there. (Hey, you've got wrinkles, are you about to die of something?) Kids cannot think about this, I know.

I think that this wonderful connection Diego and I have is not built on grandma/grandson stuff, not on 'Are your grades good?' but on the fact that we really really like each other and have a commonality of interests. We are comfortable together and I would never dream of asking him anything that would make him cringe. And I learn a lot. (I could be stranded on an island with him, my bottom line.)

After one pure day of Diego with us, his aunt and five year old cousin Quincy, arrived. Diego is stellar with small kids (he has a much younger little brother he adores). Quincy loves Diego and the two of them spent some very hot moments with Quincy riding his bike a quarter mile up the road to show off his 'stick garden' to Diego. (Quincy has artfully placed sticks in a mound of rocks we use to fill in holes in the driveway)

It was certainly a very special day for me to have these two kids- my oldest and youngest grandsons- enjoying each other and loving being here in this perfect place together.

I dare not think, I dare not hope, that Diego will choose to go to college here in Florida. So smart and accomplished, he could go anywhere. But it is his decision, he knows what he needs and I respect his decision, whatever it is. We would all love it so much if he would be part of the Florida family.

Being a grandparent is the best! Two of my grandchildren, Joe and Caroline, live so far away we rarely get to see them. I must be content with frequent photos and phone calls, and knowing that the other grandparents who are closer are keeping watch and celebrating them on each milestone. Perhaps, one day Joe and Caroline will be in our neighborhood. I hope!

Our east coast grandsons are known to us; they visit often enough to keep the family vision fresh and we have so many tracks of them on this property. Perhaps one of them, or their western cousins, will be interested enough in this magnificent place to make a claim. We'll see.

My daughter and I spent some time in the so-called vegetable garden this afternoon. There must have been twenty kinds of butterflies. We smiled!