Part 7 - Days in the life of a grandpa -

Nine mosquito bites -

Amanda and I finish our visit with Great-Grandma at the Care
Facility where she lives.

Then we are off to a local park where a path runs beside a small
river.  

A three level viewing platform is built out over the river.
We usually pick up leaves or stones to throw in the water. 

This day there are no leaves lying on the path, but we pick up
stones from the gravel path and take turns throwing them into
the water.  We say "THERE!" when we see the two expanding
circles made by our rocks touch as they ripple out from where
the stones splashed in. 

We walk further along the path to a bench where we always sit and
rest.  A larger river flows along before us.  We sit in the warm
sunshine and look for birds or ducks.  We watch a speedboat
roaring down the river.  Sometimes a tug boat goes slowly by,
towing a boom of logs. 

Amanda looks forward to hearing me sing "her special song, that I
made up for her just because I love her."  I usually sing it to her
here, while we sit and relax on the bench by the big river. 

Hers is the longest song of all the songs I have made up for my
grandchildren.  It has twenty-two 4-line verses.  I still get a few
of the words mixed up.  So I carry a print-out of the words in my
shirt pocket to refer to when I get stuck.

Amanda pulls the paper out of my shirt pocket with a flourish.
She relaxes in my arms and enjoys reading the words and singing it
along with me. For a little girl just finishing kindergarten, she
has learned to read amazingly well.  She won an award at the school
this year for her reading. 

We sing through all 22 verses, and finish up with the last words -

Well, this song is finished; I have to say good-bye,
But one thing is very clear,
I love you and I will look forward to the time
The next time I see you, my dear.

We stand up and stretch, and start off down the next part of the
trail.  It's the shady part - through a stand of beautiful tall
trees.  A lady has already warned us that the mosquitoes are bad in
the shade there. 

We start off, and before we have gone thirty feet we are smacking
mosquitoes off our arms.  I have on jeans and a short-sleeved golf
shirt with a collar.  Amanda has on shorts and a tank-top
tee-shirt that has more skin exposed for the mosquitoes to land on.
I explain I will walk behind her and try to get the mosquitoes as
soon as I see them land on her. 

We end up running along the path, laughing as we try to "out-run"
the mosquitoes. It is crazy.  I have never seen so many. 

We burst out into the sunshine a little further along, and we are
free again.  I guess mosquitoes like the shade more than the direct
sunshine. 

We relax out on a second viewing platform where the little river
flows out and joins the big river.  We walk onto the center part of
a bridge that spans the little river just before it joins.  We
throw more rocks down into the water, and watch our widening
circles until the ripples touch each other. 

Then we start back.  We are prepared to run this time through the
shady part.  I think we have gotten through unscathed. 

(But the next day Beth drops by Daren and Jenna's house for
something, and Amanda tells her to be sure and tell Grandpa that
she got NINE mosquito bites on our walk.  

She isn't upset with Grandpa, but she wants him to know.  When
Beth goes to leave, Amanda asks her, "Now Grandma, what are you
going to tell Grandpa when you see him?"  Beth assures her that
she won't forget. 

Beth tells me.  I feel terrible.  I thought I had protected her
from the tiny aerial dive-bombers.  But that's nine less bites she
will have to endure during her life....)

But back to our walk....

----------------

DO YOU KNOW OF ANYONE WHO WOULD ENJOY THIS STORY?

PASS IT ON!

Just read the notice below carefully first!

Copyright from 2007, Days-in-the-life-of-a-grandpa.com
All rights reserved
Permission to share or pass on this story, by email or photocopying
or reprinting in any way, is hereby granted PROVIDED that you
reproduce the story IN ITS ENTIRETY - along with this notice and
the web link so that any reader who wishes may sign up for
themselves to receive these stories from "Days in the life of a
grandpa" -

http://days-in-the-life-of-a-grandpa.com