I had granddaughter Aubrey with me this afternoon and evening, picking her up from school and keeping her until her daddy and stepmom were finished with a banquet. She is a joy to be around, making me laugh, making me thoughtful, in turns. We ran errands, watched an episode of Doctor Who together, and shared pizza with her papa before we landed at my sister’s house. Linda had three of her grandkids this evening and Aubrey got to play with her cousins. My mom joined us as well, making a fun and rowdy bunch.
I picked up an idea from my friend and colleague, Jennifer, that involves asking kids questions to see how well they know their parents (or grandparents). I asked Aubrey if she would like to play, and then surrendered the idea to her. As our Doctor Who episode was finishing up, she suddenly turned to me and said, “Ask me those questions!” The game was on.
These questions were about me, asked without any promptings.
Aubrey is 7 years old.
1. What is something I always say to you? You are kind, you are smart, you are important!
2. What makes me happy? Being with me.
3. What makes me sad? If one of your friends dies.
4. How do I make you laugh? By making funny faces
5. What was I like as a child? Kind (that melted my heart!)
6. How old am I? Uhhhh…72? (😳)
7. How tall am I? 5 feet
8. What is my favorite thing to do? Color and watch Doctor Who
9. What do I do when you’re not around? Color
10. What am I really good at? Coloring…said with laughter.
11. What am I not very good at? Skating! She giggled a lot on this one.
12. What do I do for a job? Sell people houses
13.What is my favorite food? Soup
14. What do you enjoy doing with me? Having fun!
I was very impressed with Aubrey’s answers, well other than the one about my age! She does know me well. And we had great discussions around her answers. I can see why she thinks I color all the time. On her visit to my house today, she noticed my dining room table was taken over by an assortment of colored pencils and a coloring book.
Aubrey took the game further, and I happily played along. As we drove to Pizza Hut and waited for our dinner, she asked me questions about her, and I helped her record the answers.
Here are some of Aubrey’s questions with my answers…and her corrections, if needed.
1. What’s my favorite food? Pizza
2. What do I want to be when I grow up? A police officer (teacher)
3. What’s my favorite color? Purple
4. What’s my favorite restaurant? Golden Corral (Japanese Steak House)
5. My favorite toy? Shopkins (Monster High)
6. My favorite super hero? Super girl (Wonder Woman)
7. Current favorite movie? Star Wars
8. Favorite tv show? Sponge Bob
9. Favorite soda? Sprite
10. What’s my favorite thing to do? Play with toys (swim)
This was a great exercise for us. I appreciate this girl. She was not only willing to play, but she took the game further. I enjoyed her questions. And I realize she is growing and learning and what was a favorite last year or last week, may not be today. That’s good. It keeps me alert and aware of how she is shifting.
These grandchildren…they continually amaze me, spark creativity and fill my heart with gratitude. As with the draw and tell story idea from yesterday, I look forward to playing the question game with the other grandkids. I hope no one else thinks I’m 72 years old!
Going Beyond 