Waiting For Shorty

        Number One Son and La Nuera are expecting a baby in September, and the young man, our first grandchild, has been temporarily and provisionally named "Shorty".    We are in great anticipation of Shorty although we are not sure what it will all mean.

        One thing it means is that we worry a good deal more about Shorty than we ever did with our own children.  There are advantages to being 30 something when having children.  I am worried about every possible disease that could afflict a baby and all the trendy but very real ailments that afflict this generation that did not seem to be prevalent or even relevant a generation ago.

        I have taken to lengthy imaginary conversations with infant Shorty as he sits sleeping in some unimaginably expensive contraption on my lap.   We can have a chat.  "These chats may be a little one-sided until you wake up and can talk, but every dog has its day".  I can impart wisdom.  "Don't take any guff from your father.  If he gives you a bad time you come and see me.  I'll deal with him.  Your mother is not my problem."  I can sing lullabies.  "Ninety-nine bottles of beer on the wall, ninety-nine bottles of beer…".  I can prepare him for the future. "The infield fly rule only applies with runners on first and second or the bases loaded and less than 2 out ".

        Trophy Wife and I have been studying the grandparenting habits of our contemporaries, and they seem dramatically different from our experience which involved TW's mother coming from out of town and the children going there a couple of times a year and seeing my local parents once a week or so.  The current practices vary over a range, but we are surprised at how many of our contemporary family and friends see local grandchildren close to daily and have actually undertaken regular child care obligations e.g. Grandma takes Tuesdays or Tuesdays and Fridays.   Grandchildren seem to be sleeping at grandparents' house on a regular basis, which may to some extent reflect the cost of babysitting but also much more involved relationships than we had.  It has occurred to me that this shift is not necessarily new but may be a reversion to older forms of multi-generational  families, albeit in separate houses with shuttling back and forth.

        La Nuera is taking it all in stride with her usual good spirits.  Trophy Wife and I are doing all the nervous, counting up the weeks and down the days. Soon enough, soon enough, all the Waiting for Shorty will be over, and we'll see what happens.