The Grandparenting Olympics

Today I was on babysitting duty  

Not officially, of course. Officially, my son, his wife and my granddaughter came over to watch the football. Unofficially, every grandparent knows that when small children arrive, you’re automatically drafted into service whether you signed the paperwork or not.

The plan seemed simple enough. We’d watch the Cats. We’d have a chat. We’d enjoy a relaxing evening.

That was the first mistake.

Because football and grandchildren exist in entirely different dimensions.

The football was on television. My granddaughter, however, was conducting important business everywhere else. There were toys to investigate, cupboards to inspect, snacks to negotiate and grandparents to keep fully occupied at all times. I spent most of the game wandering around the house performing duties that apparently only Nana was qualified to undertake.

And that was only one. We had four of them to contend with.

Every now and then I’d glance at the television and discover something significant had happened.

“Who kicked that?”

Nobody knew.

We’d all been distracted by these tiny humans, who one at least, had decided a plastic spoon was the most exciting invention in history.

My son and his wife settled in to watch the game. My granddaughter settled in to supervise all of us. She takes her management responsibilities very seriously. My grand babies just played and had fun.

And then there were the Cats.

Oh dear.

I don’t know what happened. Perhaps they left their talent on the bus. Perhaps the football gods decided Geelong supporters had been a little too confident. Whatever the reason, the Cats lost.

Nothing quite ruins a football evening like watching your team go down while a toddler is simultaneously demanding entertainment and trying to feed a biscuit to the cat.

Actually, that’s not true.

The toddler made the loss easier to take.

Because while the scoreboard was disappointing, I spent the evening surrounded by family, listening to laughter, watching my granddaughter discover the world one tiny adventure at a time, and being reminded that some things are more important than football.

Not many things.

But some.

Besides, next week the Cats might win.