Ella at the beach - by Grandpa Howard

Ella at the Beach

It was Monday, November 28, 2005. Jared, Susan, and
Ella had decided to extend their weekend vacation and
stay an extra day at the beach on South Padre Island,
Texas. Much of the Anderson family had assembled on
the island for Troy and Laura’s wedding. I think the
real beneficiaries of the extra vacation day were
Grandpa Howard and Grandma Pat.

Ella has always been a ready friend to Pat. I think
it's at least partly because Pat puts aside all (well
most) of her adult inhibitions and plays with Ella
like they are both two years old. Such fun they have,
walking, running, playing around on the floor. It has
always taken Ella a little longer to warm up to
Grandpa Howard. By the time she does, it’s time to
leave.

At the La Copa Inn in South Padre it was different.
We started by playing catch with a ball by the pool.
Later, Pat, Howard, and Ella went for a walk on the
beach. Ella liked it when Howard carried her out into
the water and let the waves roll over my his legs.
Ella didn’t want to be in the water, so we would run
away from the waves. We walked in the sand, exploring
shells, examining a live butterfly Ella found clinging
to a rock, observing and distinguishing between the
different kinds of birds --- sand pipers (small),
seagulls (middle), and pelicans(big). We played
follow the leader, running in circles until we were
too tired to go anymore. The grandparents were tired,
not Ella.

Later, in the room, after a delicious lunch of Subway
sandwiches, Grandpa Howard sat on the bed and fell
back while Ella sat down hard on the bed and giggled.
Each succeeding time we did this she giggled and
laughed even harder. Ella and Howard took turns
rolling up in the bed cover, hiding from each other.
More giggles. More fun.

Grandchildren are great. We could use some more of
them. Jared and Susan didn't suggest that we should
change Ella's messy diaper either. That's another
good thing about being grandparents.