When the little ones are not tied to a schedule, that already begins when they start Kindergarten, it is easy to look forward to times when visits during the year last weeks at a time, but then things change. This picture documents a great visit. Kristin gave Jack a toy one Christmas that zipped sections of tubing together, creating colorful tunnels for all three of them to crawl through and explore inside a room in the house or even in the backyard. Jack, Tommy and Anna loved playing in it. This was a time when Tommy was proud of the coat we found in the Gap. It looked just like the one Jeff wore. Anna was still a toddler. It was easy to notice when she needed a diaper change. Both boys would run to us gagging. This reaction at an older age would have created issues lasting into adulthood for our little sweety, but at this point, it was what you expected from our little princess in diapers. 
And as for the boys, their sense of smell is still the same. The pair of them can smell a churro stand at Disneyland from the outskirts of Vegas, and bad smells still make them gag.
The little tunnels filled our entire TV room. Only empty toy boxes at Christmas offer the kind of ectasy for our two boys like this toy did. Tommy and Jack spent a long time exploring and being "creative" as they pretended to live adventures inside that toy. As a grandparent you never realize how much you miss these adventures until grandchildrens leave and you begin to sense the silence. Little ones leave a vacuum. I don't feel lonely, because I have my Annie, but my Jack, Tommy and Anna are what keep us young, even when they remind us about one basic fact: "Pop Pop, you are really old."
The first time one of them said that, I began to wish they were younger, a time when Jack told me not to drink my Coca Cola, because I was just a "little boy," and that kind of soda was not good for little boys.
Maybe those tunnels reminded Jack, Tommy and Anna of Chucky Cheese--the children's restaurant where kids dance and prance in sheer euphoria before running from game to game to win points to win toys you could find in a box of Cracker Jacks any given day of week. You know you are at that place when you see parents and grandparents sitting and staring blankly at pizza that looks and tastes like ketchup and cheese on cardboard, yet occasionally, you can find one in the chain of restaurants that actually serves food that is better than any standard circa 1950's TV dinner, but then again, what TV dinner has rides and workers who dress up like a large rodent. The first time one of them said that, I began to wish they were younger, a time when Jack told me not to drink my Coca Cola, because I was just a "little boy," and that kind of soda was not good for little boys.
For a long time, whenever Ann and I passed one of those restaurants on the road, we looked at each other in silence, hoping Jack or Tommy wouldn't notice. And then they grew up and didn't coax to go their any more, and then I began to wish I could stop one more time to remember the fun we had with them there.
