MY GRANDGIFTS: JOHAN & LOLA

My grandkids, Johan (almost 18) and Lola (16), are visiting us.   
It’s been a long time since they were here last.

I decided to drive Johan and Lola to Pacific Heights Road where we used to live back in the early Nineties and where they stayed with us for a month.  Lola was still in diapers but ready to get potty-trained.  That was LOOOONG time ago.  I used to take them for a walk every day, to a delightful meadow higher up the road where they could run around to their heart’s content.  I took pictures of them running down the grassy hill -- Lola like a dainty little girl, Johan, speed devil that he is, going all out, hair flying in the wind.  They vaguely remember the pictures.  For memory’s sake, I took them up there again, this time in the car, and took pictures of them as they are now.  I asked them to run around again, but only got Johan to do it.  Check them out, my skinny little darlings.  How time squishes my heart.

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Johan worked out on our Total Gym machine for 45 minutes this morning.  

The thing has never seen so much action before. 

Then we went shopping all day, ending with a visit to Ala Moana Shopping Center, Hawaii’s largest shopping center.  There were huge, huge crowds, unbelievable.  But because of the heavy rains the last two days, some sections of the Center (especially toward Macy’s end) were plagued by power outages, plus, an apparent threat of carbon monoxide along the side by Barnes & Noble.  Very strange.  Many stores were darkened and locked.  Some had their sales staff stand outside the door to apologize to customers.   It was eerie – to say the least – to walk through a darkened Food Court on the lower level with people sitting quietly around tables.  This surely is a mega disaster for the merchants and the Hawaii economy.  They’re already so vulnerable. 

On a brighter note, earlier in the afternoon I had bought Johan a basketball and a pair of basketball shoes at Sports Authority.  We’d barely gotten home when, of course, he eagerly rushed off to our neighborhood basketball place, Lola in tow.  There they found some people to play with.  After about an hour I picked them up and took them out for dinner.  Barely back home again, Johan immediately jumped on the machine for the second time today and worked it for another 30 minutes (see pictures).  Where does this kid get his energy!  After taking a shower he fell into bed, completely exhausted.  Lola meanwhile had laid down after dinner and promptly went to sleep.  I got two spent puppies in the guestroom.  They’re a marvel of blessings and the day has been a pure love fest.  I’m in heaven.