Once And Future Grandparents

When I say my folks are great grandparents, I don't mean great-grandparents...my nephew and niece are far too young for such shenanigans (or is that "tomfoolery"? Never could figure out "horseplay") , and that fact that I've waited until my near-mid-40s to sire children pretty much secures that deal...although according to what I've read--or, at least, the PowerPoint show my financial advisor shows me to get me to put more money into my retirement fund--we're all going to live a lot longer than previous generations, so who knows what's possible in this crazy world?

With my nephew and niece, my mother and father have eschewed the comforts of "middle age" and indulged in nausea-inducing carnival rides, endured many a dubious film (such as the perennial holiday classics "Digimon" and "Sweet Sea", certainly the finest rip-off "The Little Mermaid" ever produced), and braved every possible element with outdoor skating, tobogganing, paddle boats, and white-water rafting. So there's no excuse for me sitting these things out when I'm their age. Greeeeeeeeeeat--thanks for sentencing me to the horrors of "The Drop Zone" when I'm 55.

Since renouncing apartment living for our humble little townhouse in the fashionable King West Village, we've hosted a visit from my mother and father every August, which affords me the chance to explore the city as a tourist-in-my-own-backyard, since I work nearby and rarely venture out of the neighbourhood other than to attend the Toronto International Film Festival and hit the malls each Christmas shopping season. Through the eyes of visitors, Toronto The Dull is a pretty cool place...hell, even the transit runs on time when they're here...

Having endured the big power blackout a few summers back, almost any new drama pales in comparison. But this week, my mom somehow ended up a cat wrangler and risked tooth and claw, as our neighbour's bratty cat "Merlin" decided to burrow into our hedges and wouldn't budge. While I fetched Pounce Treats for a bribe, my mom somehow grabbed hold of this pint-sized panther to the relief of the panicked babysitter who was in charge of making sure he didn't get out. Reputations were saved, cats fed--without injury to my mother, thankfully, who's a lot braver than I am--and as result, we've gained a regular visitor who's taken quite an interest in our adorable Maggie.