The Birthday Boy
It has been sometime since I have written anything in my blog and it has been even longer since I have written about my grandson Matthew Brooke Riggan. I can tell you that writing about Matthew is something I have had on my mind for some time but the excuses for not writing run a long gauntlet of variety from " I could never get around to it " all the way up to and including " I'm just not in the mood ". The trouble with these excuses is that most of them are true. It's just like calling my sister - I keep thinking about calling but it just doesn't happen that easily. I have to be in the mood, have to have something meaningful to say and the time to make it happen. I have been busy these many months and I am sorry to say that I have let other things take up the time I should have used to visit with Matthew and MJ. All excuses aside now is the time to get busy with my writing.
Over the past two years I have been privileged to watch as Matthew grew from an infant laying on his back blowing bubbles while his feet and arms pawed at nothing but the air above him to a toddler who looks like a miniature football fullback. I got to tell you this kid came out of the womb and experienced an immediate growth spurt, after just a few short months in this world his skin was so tight he looked like a Sumo wrestler and he felt like he weighed as much too. He has grown a lot since then, he is not the chubby little baby Linda longed for so she could pinch his cheeks, he is taller and stocky and full of energy, out growing his clothes as fast as Mom and Dad can buy more. At about 33 lbs. he weighs more than his four year old sister.
I love the way he comes up to me when I see him, he walks up and looks up to me and starts talking in a language that only he can understand but then I reach down to pick him up and his words turn to actions that Grandpa's the world over know as he wraps his arms around my neck and hugs me tight. I know that some day he will be to big for me to pick up and he will even be too big to give me a hug, by then I will probably be too decrepit to bend over much less pick him up so I will have to tell him how much I love him as I ruffle his hair.
Matthew is everything a Grandfather wants in a Grandson, he is active, fearless, curious and loving. When he still wasn't quite 18 months he was climbing the ladder to the playground, I built for he and MJ, scaring the hell out of every body, giggling all the way to the top. He has a fascination with trains and Jeeps, ( every Jeep is " Dada's Jeep" ). I held him at the Statham Xmas parade and watched his excitement as a procession of decorated Jeeps ( about 40 of them ) passed by throwing candy to the kids, he would point and yell out Jeep. Some one taught him to give the thumbs up sign when things are good, you gotta imagine him with a mouth full of birthday cake, icing covering his mouth, chin and fingers when some one asks if the cake is good.
I can't tell you how happy I was to hear him call me Grandpa, again he was not quite 18 months. Kay heard him before I did but when I picked him up and pointed to myself and asked him who I was his pronunciation was quite distinctive, now he will call out Grandpa when I walk in the door - life doesn't get much better, this is one of the reasons you look forward to getting old.
Like most little tykes he tries out his wings often, I'm not always there to see it but thank you Facebook for all the pictures and reports that Marie and Danny post each day. One day Marie posted about him tumbling down the stairs, fortunately they were carpeted and all he got was the wind knocked out of him, Marie on the other hand wound up in cardiac arrest and at least five new grey hairs. The pictures on Facebook show him to have a neat round dot in the center of his forehead, no it is not where MJ wrote on him with a colored marker, seems he has a perpetual sore that hasn't healed because he won't stop scratching it.
Today was Matthew's big day, he turns two years old tomorrow Feb. 5, 2017 but the 51st Superbowl is tomorrow and the Atlanta Falcons are playing. I like to think that his birthday was celebrated a day early because it is easier to get families together on a Saturday than a Sunday which is probably true but I think another motive is that this is SUPERBOWL SUNDAY and all adult eyes will be glued to the big screen TV watching clips from past Superbowl's, studying the pregame shows for statistics which could result in not only predicting the winner but also the final score, knowing my son this is a real possibility. It is also possible that the kids bedtime may be moved up so as not to interfere with the start time of the game.
None of the above seemed to bother Matthew at all, when Kay and I arrived the party was in full swing and it only got bigger and better from there. Birthday boy was happy to see us and I got my hugs and kisses from he and MJ then it was play time. There were toys all over the place and yet not a present had been opened, these kids have enough toys to open their own toy store. Danny and Marie are blessed with friends - several of whom are life long - and they all were there with their own kids, spouses and most importantly gifts.
I did mention that Matthew was hot for trains, he already had several that had been given to him for Xmas or just because. He had Thomas the Train trains in a couple of different sizes as well as a smaller train that ran on a wooden track and two other wooden trains one of which I made for him. You would think that many trains would be enough but that was not to be. I think I counted another four or five Thomas train sets and two sets of wooden train tracks that were given to him today plus a couple of other toys, several books for reading / coloring and several articles of clothing which did not impress Matthew to much ( I didn't like getting clothes for my birthday either ).
This was your day Matthew and from where I sat you had lots of fun, can't wait till next year. Actually I can't wait till the next time I see him and find out what changes he has gone through.
It was a good day to be a Grandpa, it is one thing to be a Dad and experience your child's birthday and growth spurts but I have found that being a Grandpa is definitely better. I don't quite know how to put it but holding , watching and playing with my Grandchildren is an experience all in it's own. I hope to be around a few more years, it would be great to see Matthew and MJ grow into young adults.
