Grandchildren

My Beloved and I have entered a new phase of our lives; we are active grandparents. We have had grandchildren for the past 6+ years, but they have always lived across the country in Boston, and we saw them for a week or two when they were here or we were there on vacation. All that has changed. 

While we were in Michigan, the whole family flew west, picked up the car we left for them at the airport, and settled into the very house in Marin county where My Beloved's daughters grew up.

We returned home to an invitation to take our two grandchildren out for a few hours while their parents ran a garage sale of all the things in the house they don't need. We picked them up, Mia 6 and Owen 3, in the morning and took them swimming at our wonderful local pool. We strategized getting the very active Owen through the changing room without incident and  had a splendid 90 minutes horsing around with the kiddos in the warm water. Mia is fearless - Owen is more cautious, but he had a fine time playing in the shallows.

When the children's lips turned blue and they began to shiver, we decided it was time for lunch. Now, those of you who have been reading this blog for a while know that I don't have children of my own, and I know zero about what they like to eat. So, I did a little research and was told by several sources that this particular brand of mac and cheese would delight their little palates. So, dutifully, I boiled and mixed, cooled and served. And, of course, tasted along the way.

Right off the bat, let me say that this bears no resemblance whatsoever to real macaroni and cheese. Cheese powder? There's just no way that it could. However, having said that, it wasn't disgusting, just lightly cheesy and salty. Mild. And it was easy, which is probably the key to why busy young mothers with full time jobs and hungry children love it.  The kiddos enjoyed it, too, and were clearly relieved to see something familiar for lunch.

Owen fell asleep in his car seat on the way home and Sarah reports that both children slept like rocks that night, so we consider this first day as active grandparents to be a big success. No one drowned, no one cried, and everyone (including My Beloved and I) slept well that night.