“WHY?”

Many years ago I had little children running around my house. When they learned to talk, they went on a spree and never stopped. That was a good thing since it made it easier to answer their question, the only question they ever ask when processing information: WHY!

Fast forward to another time in another land, the land of the sunshine and palm trees, balmy breezes that turn to scorching noon times and cool nights, the California land of La Principessa.

If you don’t know already, La Principessa is my beautiful little granddaughter Darby Shea. ‘Darby’ is the name my daughter-in-law choose; a pretty and different name, based on taste, originality and is fitting for the wonderful little personality the baby owns and ‘Shea’ is #1 Son’s choice, based on his years of attention from the endless years of frustrations and tears that always held the promise of next year will be better, a place that once existed called; Shea Stadium, home of the New York Mets!

Today’s world of child play holds a different slant, one more toward sound and animation filled with a surprise, the surprise is, of course, Grandpa can’t get the damned thing to work, and with a vocabulary that is rapidly growing, my difficulty is understanding La Principessa; it is not her fault but mine, since I am old.

But to watch this little wonder leaves an old guy like me in amazement as I marvel at her reasoning which is slightly better than mine, but she is still young yet, to her innovation in taking toys and making them do things they weren’t designed for!

But she has a secret weapon, used solely on her grandpa; that face! Oh, that face!

“Grandpa, will you read this to me?” “Grandpa, will you fix this for me” “Grandpa! Not that way, this way!” “Grandpa, can I have…’ and so on it goes. The answer to all her pleas is a resounding “YES!” she is the apple of my eye.

But like every child that is beautiful, that IS every child, they all ask the proverbial question: “WHY?”

“Why? Because!“

“WHY?”

“Because Grandpa wants it that way.”

“WHY?”

“Because it is good if Grandpa wears red socks.”

“WHY?”

“Because Grandpa wants to commit himself to the psychiatric ward for a few days, without Grandma telling him to wear red socks?”

“Oh!”

And so life goes on, with boxes and boxes of toys, books, and playsets, accompanied by millions of little parts that will eventually end up all over the house, musical and electronic playthings that carry the imagination deep into the world of entertainment and enchantment. She is entertained and I am enchanted by her. Granddaughter; the most beautiful word in the English language!

The single best gift I have had in my old age is my grandchild. She is loving, beautiful, smart and knows grandpa will only see it her way, she is the reward from the many years of old age.