Being a grandma is a great gig. You get all of the rewards without all of the work. As a mom, you have so many responsibilities and need some skills. As a grandma you can just have fun. Throw dogs into the mix and it’s a party.
Danielle, the youngest daughter, her husband Jay and their kids Bella and Ryder were here from San Jose this week. It was an especially wonderful reunion because COVID has made visiting so difficult over the past two years.
There was only one small snag. Our house is very “dog centric,” and six year old Ryder, to put it mildly, is not a fan of dogs, especially large ones. Danielle and Jay were hoping that spending time with the Doods again might be a turning point.
He’d met Gus and Stanley before and almost likes Gus because he’s little and cute. His only encounters with Henry were on Facebook.
Initially there was a lot of yelling and screaming.
ELBEE That was her.
Little by little Ryder made progress. He came out of the bedroom and played where the dogs could see him but couldn’t get to him. He posed for photos. He even petted Henry once or twice.
Eight year old Bella, on the other hand, loves the dogs and they love her. Not only was she petting and hugging them, she wanted to play dress up.
Despite the fact that it was Bella’s idea, Danielle blamed it on me, just because I 
have drawers full of accessories and never hesitate to use them. I mean who doesn’t love a dog in a tiara and sunglasses?
ELBEE Her daughters want to report her to PETA but I’m on team dress up.
Then we decided it would be fun to dress them up for different holidays. I got so carried away that even the kids were a bit concerned.
ELBEE I heard Danielle telling them “Grandma isn’t weird. She’s just eccentric.”
This photo says it all. What more could I ask for! I actually think it was good for Ryder. He got so into the spirit of what we were doing that he almost forgot about the dogs, although he did stay very close to Gus.
ELBEE Personally I think he had FOMO. For you old people, that’s “fear of missing out.”
When I asked Danielle to send me a few of her photos, I realized just how “dog centric” the visit had been. Except for one, they were literally all of the grandkids with the dogs. I don’t know how Doug managed to sneak into this one.
