Five

My grandson, Micah, just turned five months old (or some silly number of weeks if that kind of counting appeals to you). Perhaps I am over thinking it; some would describe it as over analyzing, but I find myself trying to find ways to connect with him – some common ground, something we can share.

I see little resemblance between us; that is reserved for his mother and father. Of course, there are some things that most babies share with their grandfathers.  Both Micah and I have areas on our heads where our hair is thin. His hair will continue to fill in, whereas mine will continue to fall out. We both have a big belly, but as soon as he’s old enough we will start exercising together and see if we can do something about that.

We both like our naps and can get cranky if we are over-tired. When we are hungry it’s hard to concentrate on anything else. Sometimes he growls when he bites (gums) something without any receiving any digestive satisfaction. I will also express displeasure when I don’t like what I’m eating – we’re both immature that way.

We make each other smile. Micah smiles because he thinks I look funny (he does not yet appreciate my sense of humor). Whenever I see him I laugh, not because I think he looks funny, but rather because he makes me so happy by just being here; the joy I feel is unlike anything else I have ever experienced.

Micah likes when I whistle, although I do it poorly. We both enjoy toys and a good story, usually I do the telling, but often he will carry on about something that he needs to tell me. He seems to enjoy a little song and dance as well. In addition to Christmas songs, he favors the old standards like “I’ve been working on the railroad” (a favorite of his mother’s when she was little). He appreciates nursery rhymes with an added humorous twist at the end and the timely recital of “Rain, rain go away.”

Recently Micah discovered his feet, and he feels the need to pull them to his mouth and taste his toes – it’s very cute.  I can’t do that with my own feet, and even if I could I wouldn’t. Yuck.

Sometimes when I hold him he becomes restless, so we take a tour of the house to see if anything has changed. Like me, he seems very interested in the world around him. He will often fixate on an inanimate object, such as a banana, and look as if he had never seen anything so interesting before in his whole life; which I suppose is plausible if you have never seen a banana before.

One of our regular stops on the tour is to check on the baby and man in the mirror. There are usually some smiles between the babies with a few pleasant sounds exchanged; however, the men will often frown at each other in disgust at their unseemly appearance.

It seems Micah and I have connected at some level, we even share a similar age, at least partially. Micah’s five months old and I just turned fifty-five (which is an insane number of weeks).