We have the best neighbors in the world. Madeline and Cosmo are in their late seventies (or are they eighty by now?), and they adore us. They have only one grandchild, whom they see only very infrequently, so they treat my kids like their surrogate grandchildren. They give them wonderful gifts for their birthdays and for Christmas; they pack up special Halloween goody bags for them, labeled with their names; they bring over huge sugar cookies from the bakery for every holiday; they show up with stuffed animals and See's lollipops out of the blue; they hang up Steph's drawings on their fridge and display our photos with their own children's; they bring us bushels of tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, and herbs from their garden. It's like having another set of grandparents across the street!
We worry about Madeline and Cos they way we worry about our own parents. We shovel their walk and offer to dig out their car. We call to check on them when the power goes out. How long can they continue to keep up with the house and yard? Who's going to outlive the other, and who would be able to manage better alone? They both have a variety of (mostly) age-related health problems, and we get concerned if we don't see or hear from them regularly.
Today we went over for our annual Christmas visit. Cos serves little tiny glasses of brandy; Madeline lays out biscotti, pignoli cookies, and other goodies. Cos always retells the history of panettone. Steph got barrettes and ponytail holders, plus a pen that has a built-in radio! Pete was in heaven when he saw his Spiderman toy with 27 articulated body parts. And Julie said, "I was wishing for dis!" when she unwrapped her baby doll. They get such genuine pleasure out of seeing us and the kids; I know that even when we're busy, we need to take a minute just to call or stop over to brighten their day.
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