My Grandpa...

My Grandpa…



My grandpa takes me fishing on a big lake in his row boat.  I hang my feet over the side of the boat and feel the cool water move through my toes.  The water splashes up onto my face when the boat is moving fast.  When we get to our favorite spot, I watch the fish swim underneath our boat in the clear water.  I point them out to Grandpa so he can catch them.  Sometimes I am patient enough to hold my fishing pole for awhile, but I never seem to get a bite.  I am happy just to sit in the boat and talk to Grandpa.



My grandpa listens to me play his organ.  I pretend that I am a famous musician, playing for a huge audience.  I try to use as many sounds and keys as I can so my music is as beautiful as it can be.  Grandpa tells me that my songs sound wonderful, and that makes me feel so proud of myself.  My grandpa plays the organ for me too.  His songs sound a lot different than mine.  We sing together when Grandpa plays the organ.  I love to hear him sing in his deep voice.  Our favorite song to sing together is "You Are My Sunshine."  We sing it all of the time.



My grandpa wants me to eat my vegetables.  Grandpa says that when I eat all of my vegetables, the sun will come out.  Guess what?  You won't believe it!  When I put a big spoonful of vegetables in my mouth… the sun really DOES come out!  Grandpa's kitchen becomes full of sunlight streaming in through the windows.  I always make sure that I eat my corn, green beans, carrots, and peas to chase the clouds away.



My grandpa and I play school.  Grandpa pretends that he is a student named Bad Bobby.  Bad Bobby is not very good at his school work.  He actually thinks that 2+2 = 5!  Whenever I give Bad Bobby a test he gets an "F", but he is happy because he says that "F" stands for FANTASTIC!  He doesn't want to get an "A" because that is just AWFUL!  Maybe I'll be a teacher when I grow up so I can help little boys like Bad Bobby.



My grandpa makes me feel better when there is a storm outside.  Sometimes the loud thunder and bright lightening scare me, and I feel like I want to cry.  We sit out on the front porch and watch the rain fall and run down the street.  When the thunder claps, Grandpa tells me that angels are bowling up in heaven.  We hear thunder because one of the angels got a strike and knocked all of the pins down.  I can just imagine the angels rolling bowling balls down an enormous alley with their wings, robes and halos.  Just like when I go bowling, lights flash when the angels score too, and we see lightening. 



My grandpa takes me for walks in the park.  We look at the colorful flowers, tall trees, and bright birds.  Grandpa shows me the difference between oak leaves and maple leaves, and to stay clear of the leaves that will make my skin itchy.  Once when we were looking at some pretty flowers, a bee landed on my hand.  Grandpa told me not to close my hand so it could fly away to another flower.  I don't know why, but my hand closed around that little bee.  I must have scared it, because it stung me.  I definitely learned my lesson because my hand hurt all the way home. 



My grandpa likes to play games with me.  One of our favorite games to play is checkers.  I am always the red pieces and, Grandpa is always the black pieces.  Grandpa teaches me that I should always think ahead before I take my turn so that I can win.  I get very excited when I get to jump one of grandpa's pieces because that means that I am really thinking.  I yell, "King me!", when I manage to get one of my red pieces all the way down the board.  Sometimes I wonder if Grandpa lets me win, but I can say for sure whether he does or not.  I like to think that I won fair and square. 



My grandpa teaches me to have good manners.  He reminds me to keep my elbows off of the kitchen table and to use my fork instead of my fingers.  Grandpa makes sure that I say "Please", "Thank you", and "You're welcome" when I should.  I know not to interrupt other people when they are talking, but to listen until it is my turn to talk.  Grandpa says that I need to keep my hands to myself unless I want to give someone a big hug.  I clean up my toys when I am done playing with them, and I help grandma put her laundry away. 



My grandpa is one of the best people I know.  He will always be my best friend.  Just like our favorite song says,

"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine

You make me happy when skies are grey.

You'll never know dear, how much I love you!

Please don't take my sunshine away!"