Grandpere

Today, Valentine's Day, is my dad's birthday. In honor of his birthday, I thought I would do a quick post all about him. For those of you who don't know my father personally, you should know that he is a very unique individual. He is eclectic in all things, and he is a frequent (as in several hours a night) eBay shopper. This means that he winds up with very different items in his office, generally because my mom doesn't want most of it in their home.

On Saturdays, my dad often asks Lauryn and Kaden to work with him at his office for a few hours in the morning. Lauryn is his minion and Kaden is his yeoman. They are very proud of these nicknames and will announce them to anyone. When they arrive at work, there is a checklist waiting, and the checklist always includes a trip to the post office and/or some type of work with the mail. It also includes a trip to Zeeland Bakery for donuts or cookies. At the end of their work day, my dad pays them. Usually, they get a coin of some type for their work. They also get paid in unique items. These items have included, but are not limited to, a coin purse made out of a dead frog, several arrowheads, a dinosaur tooth, a burgundy wastebasket, and large chart paper. Thankfully, he occasionally asks us if he can give them something large, and I have recently refused a few things. Like deer toenails. (Picture the bottom half of four deer legs with the hoof still attached.) On Super Bowl Sunday, we had a family birthday party and this was an actual conversation that occurred in my parents' kitchen.

Grandpere: "Kate, can the kids have a nose bone?"
Me: "A nose bone? Like a human nose bone?"
Grandpere: "Yes, it's from a cannibal."
Kaden: "Yes, Mommy, a nose bone from a tamel."
Me: "No, Kaden, not a camel, a cannibal. And, no, they cannot have a nose bone from a camel."
Kaden: "Mommy, I want a nose bone from a tamel!"
Me: "Kaden, it's not a camel nose bone, it's a person nose bone, and that's gross."
Kaden: "Oh, tan I have it anyway?"

Somehow, I don't think these conversations take place at other people's birthday parties, but that's why I love my dad. Once, in second grade, I took a dinosaur bone for show and tell. Who else gets to do that? Plus, the kids have a great relationship with their grandpere, and that's what really matters.

Happy Birthday, Grandpere! We love you!