Last Saturday at noon, our daughter in law Maria dropped off Cameron to hang out with me while she and Cameron's little sister Carina, age 5 went to a baby shower for our grandson Ikaika. Anne was attending that same shower.
I had the joy of Cameron's company for over three hours and what a fun three hours it was.
In a proper car seat, and with the air bag turned off, at 60 pounds Cameron is now big enough to ride in the front seat of my small red two seater convertible, which he did as we put the top down on this warm sunny day.
We did whatever he wanted to do and our first stop was Ruby's for lunch. Ruby's is a 40's, 50's style diner and Cameron had a corn dog and fries, along with a chocolate shake. He also watched their continuous loop of "Tom and Jerry" cartoons from that era, which is something he really enjoys.
We then pursued his next choice, visiting Toys R Us as he toured the store to see everything and pick just the right toys for Carina and him. He chose an action figure for himself and a doll for Carina, and as we checked out, he asked if he could have a Kit Kat chocolate bar he saw on display.
Shortly after I said yes, he happily finished that Kit Kat bar, as we rode home with the top down. When we got home, he built the action figure and played with it.
But here is something else worth noting. At Ruby's when I left the table and walked about 5 yards to the counter to get a pen and paper, he jumped out of the booth and walked with me. Later at home when he was playing with his action figure, I excused myself briefly to use the bathroom. When I came out, he was sitting outside the bathroom door quietly playing with his action figure.
I believe that in both instances, he has a sense of security by being close to me.
Of our six grandchildren, Cameron has always been closest to me. Starting when he was a toddler, I would take him to the toy store. And we would hang out together in the ocean view Redondo condo Anne and I owned at the time and for the next few years of his life.
There he would show us the boats going by, play with his toys, draw pictures at my desk with me alongside him and we would role play any action-adventure he enjoyed such as "Pirates of the Caribbean." He would also ask me questions about life, as he seemed to absorb everything he saw.
We have always had good times together and I believe he sees me as an authority figure, a generous and patient authority figure, as well as one who is very protective of him. He also knows I won't tolerate bad behavior and will take corrective action.
But when the world treats him harshly, I pick-up his spirits with words and hugs. And some of his favorite movies are recorded for him in our home and usually available to him on short notice as he hops up on the sofa with me.
Of course Anne and I keep our refrigerator stocked with his favorite goodies and what we don't have that he would like can be picked up for him such as freshly baked pastries from Mayer's Bakery. In any case, we offer Cameron and Carina, and any other grandchildren, a kid's paradise.
Dick
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