Husband’s mother has a bin of toys tucked away in a closet just waiting for little guests.  Having something to occupy visiting children makes for more peaceful adult conversations.  Seeing the wisdom in this, I decided to buy a new toy for an upcoming family get-together that pre-schoolers would attend at our place.  But guess what?  I had no idea what would appeal to 3-5 year-olds!  Previously I had stumbled around in the Toy Department of our local store without inspiration.  Then a brilliant idea hatched in my head.  (Surprise!)

I would pass the buck.  Let’s just call it delegation.  I made a phone call to Daughter #1.

“Hi!  Would you take M. to the store and let her pick out a toy?  (M. is our 5-year-old granddaughter.)  Let her buy any toy in the $20. range, but explain it has to stay at Grandma’s house for all the grandchildren to play with when they visit.  I’ll pay you back, of course.”

Like magic, an intriguing toy was delivered to me in the hands of a beaming five-year-old.  Thankfully her smart mom figured out how the thing worked and assembled it.  I have to admit that I would never have picked that particular toy.  But guess what?  I had no idea what would appeal to 3-5 year-olds!

There was a Christmas morning atmosphere as the toy took shape.  M. lost no time starting to play with the contraption.  I just watched in amazement.  Lunch held no attraction compared to the toy.  In fact, the toy was so much fun she had a hard time leaving it at Grandma’s when it was time to go home.  Who would’ve guessed?

Ok, so far, so good.  But will the 3-year-old find it as engaging as the 5-year-old?  The day of the family get-together sweet C., our 3-year-old granddaughter and her family arrived first.  She was barely in the door when she popped the question, “Where’s the toy you told me about, Grandma?”  She was too distracted to even get her shoes off.  Her dad wryly commented, “She almost walked here yesterday because she wanted to see the toy so badly.”  They live a 50-minute drive away!

“Oh, my.  Sure hope the toy lives up to her expectation.  Hope she isn’t massively disappointed”, I’m thinking to myself.  But out loud I confidently reply, “I’ll give you a hint where to find it.”  I held my breath as she flung open the closet door with anticipation.

To my great relief, she was instantly enthralled and for the next hour, played alone contentedly.  Whew!  Actually, Baby sister wanted to play, too, but she couldn’t crawl fast enough to keep up.  So thankful there were no small parts to choke her.  Guess I don’t need to wonder whether a younger child will like the toy!  But now I had yet another worry.  What would happen when M. gets here?  Would the two girls be able to play with one toy together?  Would they fight over the magical toy, or would they figure out a way to play cooperatively?

Granddaughter M. arrived.  I held my breath again.  After all, she’s the older one, she’s the one who picked it out and played with it first.  Will there be war?  To my great relief, they settled in immediately to play together with the toy.

The adults had an uninterrupted conversation and the joy of watching two little girls having a wonderful time. As we chatted together, a warm, peaceful feeling came over me.  This is what we came here for.  This family togetherness is what we sacrificed for and worked for when we left the other side of the continent and built a new life and a new house here.  So thankful for these precious couple of hours together.  Worth it all.

Hmmm.  Maybe if I ask a teenage granddaughter, she’ll pick out something for our teen granddaughters to do together when they visit. . .besides stare at their phones.