Well, folks. I am at it again. Writing again for the first time in far too long (roughly nine months). I’ll spare you the string of reasons/excuses that kept me away. Instead, I will get into the reason why I am writing this time around.
In June 2009, I wrote of my daughter Brianna’s graduation from high school. The piece was entitled “From Daddy’s Arm’s to the Commencement Stage.” Brianna, as many of you know has the role of LYE (Lovely Young Editor) so it was a very natural experience to write about her and the significance of the event. Fast forward to 2023, and my grandson, Taelor-James, The Mighty Warrior AKA Butter Bean AKA The Bean is making the transition from elementary school to middle school as he leaves 5th grade behind and is an uprising 6th grader. So my LYE wanted to celebrate his moving up ceremony. Brianna asked me: “Would you like to write a blog piece about Taelor’s moving up?” How could I refuse?
Taelor’s education started by attending a pre-school. I would drive him to the pre-school. I would pick him up at his place and he would sit in his car seat in the back. I had a 2007 Ford Focus SE. We jokingly referred to it as “the Batmobile.” {Taelor and I share a love for Batman]. Every day, before we left the parking lot, we would quote dialogue from the Batman TV series from 1966. I would start my car and back out of my parking spot. I would then stop then car and say: “Atomic batteries to power. Turbines to speed.” Taelor, without hesitation, would say: “Ready to move out!” and we would head toward the pre-school. It broke my heart when an ankle injury prevented me from continuing this routine.
Another bonding experience we have done many times since Taelor was able to walk independently was to visit pedestrian bridges in the Rochester, NY area. One day, on a very nice summer Saturday afternoon, we left one pedestrian bridge at Route 104 and I-390. We decided that one bridge was not enough. We went to another bridge at Maplewood Park. This bridge involves walking up an incline to get to the entrance of the bridge. Once you get to the other end of the bridge, there are two levels of concrete steps that lead to Seneca Park. You guessed it, we walked up the incline, across the bridge (which overlooks a different part of Route 104), down the two levels of steps to Seneca Park. We took a brief breather and then made our way back to the car the way we came…same two levels of steps to the bridge, back down the incline and we were in the car. We had barely left Maplewood Park and Taelor was conked out in the backseat. We got back to my house and I gently woke Taelor up long enough to get him out of the car. Taelor held out his arms and said: “Carry me, Pop Pop.” There were never four sweeter words in the English language.
Taelor and I continue to have bonding opportunities. We both study Isshin-Ryu karate and kobudu. As of this writing, Taelor and I are an advanced green belt and advanced blue belt respectively. We also enjoy throwing boomerangs when weather and ground conditions permit it. I have a bag of boomerangs in the trunk of my car to be ready for that moment when one of us calls the other to “go boomeranging”. We even wear matching t-shirts for it.
As much as I enjoy these moments of bonding moments, it is also very heart warming to watch Taelor from a distance and watch how he interacts with others. If Taelor sees a child younger than him, he will sit with them and chat about anything. He has gone out of his way to hand down older stuffed animals to his new baby cousin, Wesley. If a fellow student does well in karate, Taelor will go out of his way to tell the child’s parents. He claps enthusiastically when a fellow students advances to a new belt level (even if he, himself, does not advance).
Then there are his parents, my daughter, Brianna, and her husband Michael. Brianna enjoys story time with Taelor. They even spoke of forming a “book club” to encourage Taelor to continue reading during the summer break. Taelor loves playing games and watching movies with his Dad [The prefix “step-“ does not exist in their house.]
Taelor-James [actually let me change that so he won’t think he’s in trouble]…Butter Bean, we are all ecstatically proud of how far you have come in your nearly 11 years (as of this writing). Your parents and grandparents may not be able to carry you in the same way as when you were younger and smaller. Nevertheless, we will always support you. Thanks for letting us be a part of your moving up ceremony. Thanks for being a good sport when they recognized you by saying your first and last name in the wrong order. Thanks for singing to us with your class. Thanks for enduring the bright stage lights (though, in my eyes, you clearly belong there).
I will continue to look at you with joy and wonder. It may be while we are boomeranging. It may be while looking at your reaction as we enjoy a movie together. It may be watching a well executed roundhouse kick that came out of nowhere during a sparring round [That was last night and I almost fell out of my chair when I saw you do that.] I can only ask for your patience as my fascination with you will not go away anytime soon. Enjoy your summer, Mighty Warrior, as you ready yourself (and your parents) for middle school in the fall.
BDGJM 