Over the River and Through the Woods…

Yesterday, Michael, Hunter, and I went to visit my grandparents in San Jacinto.  They’re in their eighties, and, always try to go all out for us, but, like so many of our friends who proudly tell us they have “baby-proofed” before our arrival, they were a little taken aback by a visit from Hunter the Destroyer.

 

Perhaps it was our fault.  We took her out there fresh from a two-and-a-half hour nap.  Or, maybe it was my grandparents fault for having so many interesting, and breakable, things filling up their home.  It might have even had something to do with the cookie and iced tea my grandmother fed her… who can say for sure?

 

But, Hunter tore through their house like a little terror.  At first playing nicely with the few interesting toys my grandmother had set out for her, but, quickly moving on to snatching telephones, reaching breakable objects that had been moved, but, had not been moved out of her reach, pushing the little carts my grandparents use instead of walkers around the living room, stalking their little dog, rocking madly in the antique rocking chair until my grandfather expressed a concern that she would go through the window, and, well, I could go on…

 

Yes, for whatever reason, she was a little more amped up than usual; the new place, the neat stuff, but, her mania culminated while we all tried to sit down to a late lunch.  Hunter, of course, refused to eat, so Michael and I ended up eating in shifts so that she wouldn’t terrorize the place unchecked and it quickly became another one of those moments where we wondered why we ever leave our home.

 

The best part, however, came as we were ready to leave.  (I am going to skip over the little red thing that Hunter picked up off the floor and stuffed in her mouth, but did not swallow, and the subsequent explanation from my grandmother about how many hundreds of pills she had probably dropped under her chair…)  My grandfather, while watching my daughter run laps around his living room says, “Have you considered seeing a doctor about,” wave of an aged, boney hand, “this…?”

 

Unfortunately, his remark coincided with our departure and he seemed to think that we were offended rather than amused.  Am sure he is still getting an earful from my grandmother about running us off with his rude comment, but, am also sure that he’s not counting the days until our next visit.