Chuckles with (Grand)children

To be sure, this post isn't about laughs I had with my grandchildren when they were here.  This is, instead, some musings of my own chuckles coming from life with teenagers.  First, please understand that I adore my kiddos.  They are great kids.  Robin just turned 17, and Ryan is 15 (16 in November). Here are some of the humorous, head-scratching moments:

1.  It was trash day.  The inside trash container was full-to-overflowing.  Robin was in the kitchen with me, while Ryan was in the bedroom, playing his online computer game.  I mentioned to Robin--my little Social Justice activist--that Ryan needed to come take out the trash.  Here is how that conversation went:

ME:  Ryan needs to come out and take out the trash.
ROBIN:  Why do you want Ryan to do it?
ME:  He usually does it for me and hasn't been out of the bedroom for hours.  It won't hurt him.
ROBIN:  But it doesn't have to be a guy's job.  We don't ask women to do those things because society thinks they are weaker, but this is an opportunity for women to build more muscles.
ME:  Okay...so do YOU want to take out the trash?
ROBIN:  Yes, I do.  (Takes out the trash.)

Honestly, I didn't care who did the garbage thing for me, just as long as it got done.  But, for the life of me, that's the FIRST time I've ever had someone volunteer to take the trash out just to strike a blow for feminism and gender roles!

2.  One day, when Robin was out shopping with Grandma Judy, Ryan and I ran errands.  The kids had both told me that they had brought their own toiletries.  Great.  While Ry and I were in Meijer, he mentioned that he needed shampoo (even though I had quite a bunch at home).  He selected a bottle, and I thought all was well.  SEVERAL days into their visit, I had seen no signs of a toothbrush for him or any evidence that he had actually brushed his teeth--nor had he asked for tooth-cleaning supplies when we had been shopping before.  So, when the both of the kids were out running errands with me, I took them to a strip mall that had a Five Below and a Dollar Tree just two stores apart.  Gave them both $10 to spend at either place while I stayed in the car.  Robin came out of Five Below with nothing.  Ryan went to Dollar Tree with orders from me to come back with a toothbrush and toothpaste--keep the change.  (He chuckled that it was a good way to get money from Grandma...not to buy anything.)

Ry came out with a pack of two toothbrushes and a small box of toothpaste.  Total cost:  $2.
A day or two later, I noticed that the toothpaste box had been unopened.  He said he HAD brushed his teeth, but without paste.  Uh...why?  "Toothpaste makes my mouth feel weird."  I gave up, but not without the lecture that someday his teeth were going to rot out of his head and he would regret not taking better care of them.  It fell on deaf ears...

Bottom line:  Three days after he went home to Seattle, my housekeeper found one of the toothbrushes on the floor somewhere in his bedroom.  It's toast now, but still...  It's funny only insofar that it is so RYAN!

3.  Before departure, Ryan deposited his laundry with me, at my request.  In it, there were four pairs of pants, some t-shirts, some shorts, and some underwear...but not a single sock.  Socks are anathema to my grandson.  When he takes them off, he flings them to the four winds, never to be seen again.  As unbelievable as it may seem, I think that he came with ONE pair of socks--the ones on his feet--and left with that same pair, unwashed.  I hope I'm wrong...but I don't think I am!!  Shaking my head in frustrated chuckles!

4.  My grandchildren have rapidly become seasoned flyers, even though they are both still minors.  I worry, however, because I know that so many things can go wrong at airports.  When Ryan left Seattle for Indy, he used his driver's learning permit as ID, and was told by the TSA rep at SeaTac that he would need a "valid ID" next time.  (He didn't tell me this until the morning of departure from here back to Seattle.)  Ack!  SeaTac is a very busy international port air terminal.  Indy just isn't.  I hoped that he'd be okay getting through Security with the same ID he came with.  So...as he was packing to leave, under my heavy supervision, he asked if I knew where his ID was.  "Isn't it in your wallet?"  "I didn't bring my wallet."  Double Ack!  So now I am panicking.  We are going through the pockets of clothes that were washed, looking inside the washer and dryer, etc.  My brain is racing.  If he has lost his driver's permit, he not only has no ID to get through airport security but also can't do his practice driving when he gets home--IF he gets home!

A very short while later, he came out of his room, with his suitcase trailing.  I asked if he had found his ID.  He said yes.  I made him show it to me.  I think he was a little fracked that I didn't believe him.  It wasn't about believing him.  It was about reassurance for Grandma!!  A bit later, after I got home from dropping the children off at the airport, Robin reported that they were safely at the gate, with no problems.  Only then could I chuckle about how Ryan flies by the seat of his pants!

5.  In our family, when someone flies, we have a tradition of sorts.  The persons en route are to text those they are leaving and those who are awaiting their arrival with certain milestones.  "Through security."  "At the gate."  And, at the end of the trip, "Touchdown."  The folks at both ends generally track the flights online.  In the case of the grandchildren, I also want to be informed when they are in the bosom of the family waiting for them.  Then I can finally breathe.

This return trip back to Seattle, the children were through Security and at the gate almost before I got home from dropping them off, which is a scant ten minutes.  That meant that Ryan didn't have any problems with his form of ID.  Hallelujah!  I tracked their flight.  No problems.  Arrived early.  Eventually, I got the "touchdown" text from Robin, but what she texted her mother was, "Seahawks have scored again!"  Love that kid!

Unfortunately, the kids' mother forgot to text me that they had the kids in custody.  I got the message several hours later--Oops!  Forgot!  "We have the kids and are halfway home after stopping for food." Yeah...okay.  I'll go to bed now...finally!

I have been so blessed with grandchildren that are good looking, intelligent, caring, and faithful, if not quirky.  I'm pretty sure they think I'm a dinosaur and were bored here.  They probably have no clue how much it means to me to have them here.  I take great pleasure in just having their company, and I bend to their "needs" maybe more than they bend to mine, but such is life as a teen.
I shore do love my grandbabies, chuckles or not!