Shoham's Seventh Birthday

Joel and I took the humble Prius to Albany this past weekend for granddaughter Shoham's seventh birthday. My little baby is growing up so fast! We took her (and her sister, 2 year old Advah) birthday presents consisting mainly of the stuff we picked up at Disneyworld. Seems they're at the age where it is all about the Princesses and Tinkerbell, so the gifts were immediate hits.

 

We had to be responsible grandparents and be certain that each youngster got at least one gift each (although the birthday girl came out ahead). Then there was the party. Imagine 17 six and 7 year olds hopped up on frozen yogurt (a shop served as the party's location), cake and a giant screen Wii system. I considered it close to the 7th circle of Hell, but the children were heard to exclaim things like "This is the best party in the world!"

One of the things that fascinated me was that, when they got too wound up, the mere act of getting the I-Pad out and tuned to a Netflix Cartoon could calm them down. It makes for a great pacifier, although I was a bit taken aback to realize my 2 and 7 year old grandkids have an I-Pad and I don't! Where is the justice in the world?

I wouldn't trade it for the smiles these two children give me on Joel and my infrequent visits. Despite being a Guy Without an I-Pad, where esle can I see a child get ecstatic joy from a simple red balloon?

While I would not mind a little more technical enhancement in my little corner of the world, sometims the little things more than make up for that.