Stories for My Grandchildren To Satchel and Temple, with utmost love, Oma August 2019 Sonoma, California by Catherine (Clemens) Sevenau First Grandchild ~ It was a difficult delivery, going from natural childbirth to emergency Cesarean over the course of a two-day labor, and everyone was … [Read more...]
Heaven at Four
My son ~ When I picked him up from Moon Valley School, I could see he was upset. “Mom, do you know what happens to us when we die?” “Do tell.” “Charlie sang a song about John Henry, and when he died, they buried him in the ground!” “Well, what did you think happens to people after they die? You … [Read more...]
Letting Go
Dim Sum and a Monopoly Card ~ It took a while but we finally made it to Yank Sing in San Francisco. I told the waitress it was my grandson's 15th birthday and that this was my favorite restaurant and his first time there. After 12 baskets of Dim Sum, she brought him a dessert with a candle. This is … [Read more...]
High Finance
Surf's Up ~ "Oma, are these yours?" Temple (age 9) asks, checking out the box of Neofins in my garage. "Yes, as a matter of fact, they are," I answer, trying not to sound defensive. With an askance side-eye she says, "You don't seem like the type." "I wore them swimming when I went with Elaina to … [Read more...]
Spreading Wings
March Forth ~ Whoo boy... birthday ice cream, a book and a check from me, then off to testing at Taekwondo. He has on his backpack, a new 13-year-old birthday tee, and a slight, very slight, mustache. I say, "Hey, come here! Is that hair on your upper lip?" He answers proudly, "Yeah, and I have it … [Read more...]
Birds and Bees
The Birds and the Bees ~ "Oma, you have to have a man and a woman to make a baby, right?" I think, “Why me, and why now?” My ten-year-old grandson can’t ask me questions like this when we’re alone? He wants to have a sex conversation with Miss Five-Year-Old Big-Ears sitting next to him in … [Read more...]
Just Plain Mean
Char Girl ~ I had my four-year-old granddaughter for the weekend. We’re making chocolate chip cookies and she begs to take over mixing the butter and flour. “I do it, I do it! Let me, let me!” After getting the cookies in the oven and cleaning up, as there was now batter everywhere, we put a load of … [Read more...]
Princess Imelda
Big Sur, California ~ Camping is everything I remember, which is a lot of work, kind of grubby, and not particularly comfortable. Other than my grandson having poison oak from stem to stern from his camping trip the week before and Princess Imelda having a meltdown because she had to wear her tennis … [Read more...]
Talk to the Hand
Different Strokes ~ The grandkids are here most Friday nights. Now that he's older, Satchel sleeps in the downstairs bedroom while Temple still sleeps with me. She wants a Taser for her birthday. Here's the difference between these two... He was three the first time he spent the night (she was not … [Read more...]
Fashion Police
Righteous Indignation ~ I picked up my granddaughter from school on her third day of kindergarten. “So, how was it?” “Well,” she says, arms akimbo, “they have a lot of rules here.” “Like what?" “You can’t throw rocks, you can't throw the bark, you can’t tear the leaves off the bushes, you can’t … [Read more...]
Casper and Kale
Casper ~ We’re on the couch watching Casper cartoons on my iPad, and Temple, who's four, says, "Have you noticed that I haven’t pulled on your old skin today?" Little Miss Blue Eyes has this thing about tweaking the flesh on the back of my hand and watching it remain in a wrinkled peak. I said, … [Read more...]
Stage Right
The Hedonist and the Refugee ~ Satchel was all fun, fun, fun. “Can we go to the movies and to the toy store and bake cookies and play dominoes and can you read me a book and can we draw dragons together and then can we go to the park, can we huh? huh? I ask, “All in the next three hours? He says, … [Read more...]
Conversations With the Boy
Time Wounds all Heels ~ Satchel doesn't call him Grandpa, he calls him Bob. My ex has our grandson over for a swim and we are tag-teaming having him for the week-end. Bob lives a few blocks away on Garland and the two of them were playing cowboys and Indians—or maybe it was cops and robbers—while … [Read more...]
Inquiring Minds
First sleepover (age 3) ~ "Oma, do you wear jammies? "Not always, but for you, I'll wear jammies." As we get tucked into bed, I give him a goodnight peck on the cheek. He side-eyes the leopard print pajamas my friend Kay Grether gave me and says, "Nice jammies!" "Thank you, Satchel. I love … [Read more...]
Angels and Bees
An Ancient Being ~ It was the day after his birth that I held my grandson for the first time. I remember having this tiny creature cradled in my arm, peering into his dark eyes, thinking he looked nothing like a baby, but more like a wise and ancient being. A week later I brought my stepmother, … [Read more...]
Important Instructions
Instructions for Satchel ~ Email correspondence regarding my grandson at age 4; Brooke is my daughter-in-law, his mother: (from me) Hi Brooke, I’m leaving today for Carmel and then Southern California and returning this weekend, so I won't be here to keep my usual date with Satchel on Thursday. … [Read more...]
What’s in a Name?
First grandchild ~ It was a difficult delivery, going from natural childbirth to emergency Cesarean over the course of a two-day labor, and everyone was tremendously relieved when both mother and infant safely made it through the ordeal. Matt calls from the hospital the day after the baby is born. … [Read more...]
Murderers and Fortune Cookies
A Day in the City ~ Thinking it would be fun, Satchel and I took a day trip to San Francisco’s Chinatown, Ghirardelli Square, and Pier 39, and made it there and back, though barely. Going, we missed the Larkspur Ferry by ten minutes, so we had to wait for the next one. Finally boarding, we … [Read more...]
Small Fry Reveries
Television ~ "Oma, you don’t have a television," Satchel says to me in surprise. “You’ve known me for four years, and you’ve just noticed?” “Why don’t you like TV?” “I didn’t say I didn’t like TV, I just don’t have one.” “Did you ever?” “Of course. I had one when your dad and Jon were growing up, … [Read more...]
Dead People, Fairies, and Hitler
Dead People ~ “Oma, there’s dead people under those rocks, you know.” I glance over my shoulder to see what Satchel is talking about. My grandson, who is four, is commenting from his car seat about the small cemetery to our left on East Napa. “I know Satchel, that’s where they put our bodies when we … [Read more...]
Matching Red Noses
2006 ~ My grandson is three, and this is my second time to have him for an extended period at night. Brooke and Matt are in San Francisco, returning around 11:00. We spend the afternoon and evening at my house doing all the things we love to do together: cooking, eating, and reading the books I … [Read more...]
Dragons and Tutus
The Grandkids • July 2009, Sonoma, California ~ Brooke and the kids are visiting in Sonoma for a month. My son and his family moved to Vancouver, Canada last year—they had the nerve to not only move there, but to take my grandchildren with them—and this is their first time back. Satchel is … [Read more...]