the joys of grandchildren

I have two adorable grandchildren both having their birthdays this month. Normally I shower them with gifts, but since my brush with cancer I began to think if this was really the right way to go, presents are soon used and discarded, books read, clothes grown out of. What is more important than memories. Of course they have lots of silly memories of the things we have done together but it seems much more important now that I make sure they have lots of good happy memories of me.I write this with tears in my eyes, the first time I have let the bloody cancer make me cry! Sh*t!! I cry not because of its effect on me, but the effect it might have on them!! They don't deserve this thing in their young lives. So this year I decided to give them a special granny's day out, one day with both of them and one just for each one. Well we had our joint day together on Thursday when we went to see Walking with Dinosaurs at the MEN. Wow! What a show! Fantastic is not the word. My grandson who will be five in a couple of weeks was so engrossed, he was almost on the stage with the dinosaurs.Even I began to think of them as being more than puppets, especiallythe baby T Rex I could have taken him home with me! My granddaughter who will be 11 said it was well worth the money and could watch it again. Yesterday she and I travelled up to Hull to visit the Deep, another fantastic day out for her. We set off early and went by train, fortunately I had spotted a special offer on transpennine trains which meant she had a free ticket, so the fare wasn't too expensive. She really enjoyed the exhibits especially the underwater lift and getting close up to the sharks. It's Luke's turn next weekend. We are off to Chester to visit the zoo. He already has a list of animals he wants to see. I just hope the rain will hold off ( fingers crossed). ( The only thing I have discovered about granny days is they sure tire me out. I need a couple of recovery days between them) Take care all Jazzx