Stay-At-Home Grandpa

Grandpa stopping for a tea break

I wrote this in response to a notice I saw on NPR for an upcoming series:

Stay at Home Grandpa

After years of working, our future plans were finally coming together. Dale would run his vacation out and then retire, at the age of 67.

Our plans included the usual travel but in our case we’d travel after periods of my work. I’m a catastrophe claims adjuster which means that I handle insurance property claims after a catastrophe. So the plan was that we’d go to work a catastrophe and then, after the work finished, we’d incorporate travel on the way home.

At the time of Dale’s retirement I was working on the east coast both earthquake claims and wind claims. Dale finished up his work and drove to the east coast to join me. We worked together; Dale driving to claims, cooking meals, doing laundry and cleaning the RV while I worked on claims making money. I gave him ideas for dinners, helped show how to sort laundry, tips for some of the basics. We traveled home, a shorter trip due to a family emergency, but we were together as planned.

So this past fall we were working in Sacramento, Dale handling all of our living while I worked 12 hour days 6 days a week. Then in late September we got a phone call from our granddaughter’s mother; we had to take our granddaughter and ASAP. We were stunned. What about all of our plans? Our plan changed to a literal Stay at Home Grandpa as I had to keep working at a job 5 hours away.

We drove home a couple of days later, after working all day. We were upset, bitter at the change of plans, uncertain of how we’d work everything. Dale already knew how to run a household but was uncertain over how to care for a 16 year old girl.

Dale now has a new routine: gets up, makes sure that granddaughter is awake, makes her toast and puts it on a warmed plate, and makes a protein drink for her breakfast on the way to school. He takes her to school, comes home, does dishes, cleans then takes a break. In the afternoon he picks her up from school, makes sure she has a snack, makes dinner, cleans up the kitchen and finishes up for the evening. Additionally, a son brings over his 2 boys once a week or so for Dale to care for overnight. He has a standby meal of pasta that he makes but kids all eat, no one goes hungry.

I’m home until the next round of work comes along and I help where needed but really, it seems that Dale has found a new calling. And the travel will just be different; he will visit me as he can. And as for me? Well I'm sittting and writing while my husband just finished vaccuming the living room and is now helping our 4 year old grandson find a video to watch. Life isn't bad!