Just when you thought it was safe to recover the sofa, in something dreamy and white, you realize that your infant grandson, while precious and stationary now, will grow into a force of nature and start doing boy things.
By Robin Jovanovich
Just when you thought it was safe to recover the sofa, in something dreamy and white, you realize that your infant grandson, while precious and stationary now, will grow into a force of nature and start doing boy things. I speak from experience having had two blonde and angelic boys, and even though they’re now both in their thirties I have a long memory about what sticks and stones and balls did to walls and antiques. The boys have been out of the house for years, but I still hear the gaiety, as they raced through the halls, and the growling over “it’s time for bed, homework, quiet, and something other than pizza.”
So, while Peter Walter, or PW as we’re calling him, is still in the mood to nap and gurgle, I have been creating a nest, not only for him, but for his parents. They’ve promised to come out from the city a lot this summer and their room is ready. In fact, it looks so appealing that my husband is wondering why that front room, with all new windows, the one comfortable bed, and a view of the harbor, is now “the guest room.” Parents make sacrifices I remind him.
He doesn’t seem to care about PW’s room, which has high ceilings and looks out over a serene backyard landscape. In fact, my husband helped me rehang all the art in there. So that when his grandson awakens from a nap, he can see pictures of grandparents and great-grandparents, whom he will sadly never have the opportunity to meet. When he looks up from his crib, he’ll see photos of other babies and swans wondering what kayaks are doing in their marina.
The antique coach holds well loved, if sometimes abused stuffed animals. On top of a recently restored English lowboy sits a music box from Twig Antiques, Francis, the orangutan his father carried from place to place, a plastic giraffe that the dog lusts after, a piggy bank, and old-fashioned wooden toys that survived several domestic wars.
We are looking forward to a long period of peace before the siege of boyhood begins anew.