My Trip to "Never, Never Land"

2010 was a year of great change and consequently growth for us.  Gratefully, it was topped off with the wonderful gift of a new grandchild.  Anna JaLayne Bangerter arrived on Friday, December 10th in Albuquerque, New Mexico.  I arrived in Albuquerque  on Thursday evening of the previous week.  Anna’s arrival time allowed me a whole week to be able to play with two-year-old, Aliná,  Not only was it great to have so much one-on-one time with Aliná, I also learned something about myself.   I missed the simple play of years gone by, and I saw the creative play of a child from the eyes of a grandmother in a way I had never seen it before.

As a mother, I did not allow my children to jump on the couch or beds.  They could take blankets and put them with the cushions, and occasionally the mattresses, to build forts but jumping on furniture was not allowed.  It was one of my attempts at teaching respect for belongings while preserving their usefulness and thus our limited budget.  However, as a Grandmother, I found myself stretching my old rules to accommodate the joy of the child.  With Aliná’s delightful laughs and smiles, and fueled by the confinement of an apartment, we made up new games that revolved around the couch.  It was so much fun that when Aliná wanted to play, she would tell me she wanted to play the “couch game.”  When you watch the attached video clip  of one version of the game, please be sure to notice that although I was standing on the couch, I did not jump on the couch; just off it.  But after so many years of my Kauffman enforced “couch rules” I felt a little guilty even standing on the couch so thanks Lindsey and Adam for putting up with my Peter Pan antics. It was great fun! I found so much enjoyment playing with a two year old.  I look forward to more creative play with grandchildren in the years to come.  What now?  With the help of a little "Pixie Dust" I left Never, Never Land and traveled back to the reality of a whole year in NYC.  (Copy and paste the following URL to see a video clip of the grandma game:  <iframe title="YouTube video player" class="youtube-player" type="text/html" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/enIKEw6YSE0" frameborder="0" allowFullScreen></iframe>

Anna

Alina, the big sister.

I love holding newborns!

Getting a ride in the laundry basket.