Grandads and Three-Year-Olds: the Great Challenge of Having a Conversation

Three-year-olds are a handful. It's that fun age when they are coming into their personality. Words are beginning to spew, and there appears to be a little bit of logic showing up in their conversations.

But it's a challenge to fully understand and engage them, especially when you're hard of hearing, mildly impatient, and enjoy one's solitude.

Let me introduce myself. I am Grandad to a gaggle of kids. Our family is relatively close, as most of the kids live with me.

For a guy in his upper 60's, widowed and still working, having kids around the house seems to be the final frontier before I head off to start my bucket list.

I have my space, and they have theirs. But throughout the day, we intersect, and I have to talk to them.

The kids range from two to nineteen. One of the kids is a little over three. She is a rambunctious little girl who has made it clear she is the center of our family universe with the personality of a dancing butterfly.

Without getting into a slurpy grandfather and grandaughter story, my tale is one of simplicity.

The first thing is she calls me 'Gear Ad.' Somehow that translates to Grandad. The name has stuck like tape on a birthday present. I'm sure that will change as she gets older.

Second, when I work from my office and return home, I like to relax while thinking about whether to have a zesty martini or a smooth scotch to cap off the day. My thinking is usually interrupted as the dancing butterfly quickly tracks me down and fills me in on her day.

"Gear Ad, I had a cheese stick for lunch," she proudly announces. "I ate half, and then the dog ate the rest."

"Did the dog thank you?" I jokingly replied. I'm always on a quest to cause her to stop talking and think. Sometimes she's too quick for me.

"No, he made me mad," she said.

Oy, I thought, that didn't work. "Ok, do you want candy or ice cream?"

It's always good to try and redirect their little brains.

"Gear Ad, I want ice cream, you know I like ice cream. My doll's leg broke, look!" she demanded as she stuck her Barbie Doll up at me.

"Oh my, that looks pretty serious. Does that mean you want more ice cream than I normally give you?" I replied.

"Gear Ad," she said, tugging on my shirt, "I want to go swimming and play with my ball, I want to watch Nemo, and can we have pizza for dinner?" she told me.

A compound sentence that I barely understood. It made my head explode. I was speechless for a second while I tried to comprehend the words.

My response "Ok, would you like candy with your ice cream?" I asked.

She smiled and laughed. Our little game of verbal chess may have reached a checkmate and I was on the losing side.

Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out two Jolly Rogers while putting an extra scoop of ice cream in her bowl. She grabbed it all and happily ran off like a butterfly on a warm day. Little did she know I didn't understand much of what she said.

I enjoy our conversations, but I'm also quick to buy her happiness. Isn't that what Grandads are for?

She pushes my buttons with her cute little voice that mangles words, holding nothing back. She knows when I come home, I'm the most vulnerable.

The moral of this story is very simple. Ice Cream and candy are the great equalizers amongst Grandads and Grandaughters.

Enjoy those moments because kids will grow up. And hopefully, they will stay out of politics.