My Beloved and I had our four year old grandson Thomas today while his parents were at the Sharks game. In the middle of lunch, Thomas looked up from his meal and said with a solemn expression on his face, “I know Duke is dead, but maybe he’ll come back next week.” What a blessing he is!
On a completely different note, when the the three of us were in the car headed home I got a bit bored of a very repetitious song he’d been singing, so I decided to make up a silly song on the spot to distract him from the one he was repeating. I wanted it to be as silly as possible so it would crack him up, and easy for him to learn. This is what I came up with:
“If I drink stinky soup
From a cup
I might get sick
And throw it all up!
Blehhhuhhhaaaahhh!”
I sang it once and exaggerated the last line as though I was… (uh, what’s the polite word for puking?). He and My Beloved exploded into laughter. Of course she caught herself, and in a scolding voice said, “Papa!” But Thomas obviously has better taste in songs than she and yelled, “Papa! Sing it again!” So, being the good Papa that I am, I belted it out again, with even more emphasis on the last line.
Each time I finished he was convulsed in laughter and yelled, “Sing it again.” Having once been a little boy myself –though very long ago–I knew the repetition he sought wasn’t just for the entertainment value, he was learning more of the song each time. So I kept going, singing the same words but in different tones, volumes, accents, etc. Soon he was singing along with me.
When we got home I sat in my special Papa chair and he sat on my knee. I suggested that he sing the song and that My Beloved make a video of it and send it to them while they were at the game. She went along with it and texted the clip to them.
When they saw the video, their text to us read: “Oh. My. God.”
I replied, “No need to thank me. I was just doing my job as Papa.”
With Love,
Russ
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Russ Towne's A Grateful Man 
Your Grandson, agree – what a blessing.
i love the comment from him about duke. that is so true of children that they don’t yet understand permanence, and it is something that i think is a gift and makes difficult things easier to bear for them. as for the song adventure, i think that is wonderful )
Thank you, Beth. I think you’re right that not understanding permanence can be a gift for young children. Hope is a powerful thing and permanence removes it.
Russ
“I know Duke is dead, but maybe he’ll come back next week.” Wow.
Bless his little heart. ❤ ❤ ❤
Bless it indeed. The little guy has a huge heart. Thank you for your comment, Tess.
Russ
You are welcome, Russ.
And a GREAT job you’re doing, Papa!! PS – do you think your video will go viral?? 🙂
LOL! I never thought of that! He could get his 15 minutes of fame early! ;-D! Thank you for your kind comment!
Russ
You are perfectly suited for his Papa job.
My wife, son, and daughter-in-law might disagree after that song, but I know Thomas would agree whole-heartedly with you!
Russ
Ohhh, you’re a bad influence, Papa. Too funny!
Thank you, Cathy. I’ll treat that as a compliment. The way I figure it, he’s got most of the world telling him to be quiet, sit straight, don’t touch, etc. He needs an ally that can help him to relax and just be a fun and funny little boy. He’s lucky that he also has two great parents and three other wonderful grandparents.
Russ
You are a great Papa and what I wouldn’t give to be there when Thomas sings that tune at the top of his lungs at a most inopportune time. His parents will definitely send you a text of Thanks. You certainly have a poetic way with turning a phrase, Russ! Please continue to keep that imagination always at the ready. Clare
LOL! Thank you for the wonderful compliments, Clare! I plan to do so, and am sure I can do something with pea soup and a word that rhymes with soup. ;-D!
Russ
You’re welcome, Russ. Ah, yes, the Poop word. So beloved by children all ages. I’ve used it in my little verse poem about the baby carnivorous plant who refuses to eat meat.
“Poo in a Pitcher? That doesn’t sound Kosha!”
“It’s called symbiotic” explained Aladosha. One of my best poetic lines, if I say so myself. Emily D., eat your heart out!
You are a woman of many talents! Is there no end to the depth of your creative abilities! I can but stand awestruck in the shadow of you glorious masterpiece, riddled with jealousy, at a creation so magnificent as to reduce do even my best attempts to emulate it to mere excrement. Poor Emily D and me…
I love that little verse poem and will send you a copy complete with photos when I finally have it printed up. It’s a power point right now to be used as an instruction tool in teaching. Thank you for your always kind words and here’s to the poetry within “Poop” everywhere!
LOL! Thank you. Look forward to receiving it.
Russ
🚽 (toilet humor symbol)🙄
LOL! Oh, I thought perhaps you were just letting me know that you needed to go take a potty break. ;-D!
Russ
Yes, it could appear that way. Got to be careful with those emojis! 🙄👀
touching and emotional… ❤
Thank you, Mel@nie.
Russ