An Awfully Big Adventure

Our eldest grandchild will be seven next month.  He's an absolute joy, with baby teeth falling out and new ones coming in at an alarming rate.  At Christmas time we asked if he would like to come and spend a sleep over with us during the school holidays and his immediate response was, "It's a date!" 

So on Friday we drove to pick him up early in the morning and he waved a fond farewell to his mother and three younger sisters.  I doubt Scott of the Antarctic had more gear to survive the night than our boy brought with him.  Stuffed into his backpack were the usual necessities of life such as DVDs of his favourite movies which he was keen to share with us, a blue ball to throw around with us in the park over our back fence, electronic games, a complete set (and I do mean complete) of every Star Wars figurine ever manufactured, and yet somehow he managed to squash his pyjamas, clothes for the next day, and his toothbrush into a spare pocket in the side of the bag.

We had a special surprise treat in store, so we headed for a parking spot near the river and waited for the City Cat to arrive.  Oh, that's our Brisbane ferry service.

While we waited, we had time to admire the new school shoes which Fudge Jnr insists on wearing everywhere.

The trip to the city was only the beginning of our Big Adventure.

What city worth its salt doesn't have a Big Wheel?  Our grandson was awe-struck when he sighted it as we disembarked at Southbank and was gobsmacked when he realised we were heading towards it.

The people turned into ants before his eyes.

Time to take a brief look at the map.

There's nothing quite like the sheer joy on a six-year-old's face.  I can remember at the same age my poor mother instructing me to grin rather than smile when placed in front of a camera, but it was only partly successful.  When you're happy at that age, it all hangs out.

Time to head back to the City Cat and home.

That evening we watched Wall-e and Who Framed Roger Rabbit.  It was a case of déjà vu, as we had a running commentary on what was happening twenty seconds before each scene.  It's one of the wonders of the world how a boy can store so many film facts into his memory banks and still have space for other stuff.

We bade Fudge Jnr  a fond goodnight as he lay contentedly in the spare bedroom with his faithful cuddly toy dog to keep him company.  We decided to immediately follow suit (minus the fluffy dog) and within five minutes there was a little figure at the door.  Apparently there were mysterious monsters invading our spare room and even though he was a Monster Warrior, he needed the company of grandparents, just for a few minutes.  He slept soundly with us until the morning.

The experience of having one on one time with a grandchild is wondrous and we will repeat the experience with our other six grandchildren over time.

The most precious moment was when he asked to sit between us on the lounge, "Because I love you both".  Priceless.