Grandma Power

I'd say the next step in our evolution is for the Grandmas to take over the reins and lead the way to the future.

Yeah, you heard me right. Grandmas.

This is what got me thinking about that:

Grandma's been coming over pretty regularly to see Gavin - and me, of course - and for a while she lived practically next door, so she came over almost every day.

Now, I'll let you in on my little secret...

...I'm no Martha Stewart.

Some days the house looks like the DEA came in and searched the place with dogs, the yard looks like it comes with an abandoned house, and Gavin looks like a lil troll with potatoes growing out of his ears and fingernails a mile long.

Yep, it's true. My housekeeping skills are... just questionable.

Most days I'm going just as fast as I can, gaining no points for style, I'll tell you - and always feel like I'm one step ahead of the avalanche, running for my life.

Pretty soon, here comes Grandma...

She hugs all around and sits down to talk for a minute over tea, if I can find the kettle...but it's not long before she's up, filling the sink with soapy water. She always starts there, with no use for the dishwasher, except maybe as a drying rack.

Watch her, and you'll see she's never really in a rush about it, she takes her time - but before long, all the dishes in the sink(s) are clean, dry, and put away in cupboards. It takes me a couple of weeks to find them all again; )

Then she'll sit down for a few minutes, or watch Gavin for a while, and after a bit she's back up again, wiping, sorting, folding, whisking, throwing away - and talking. By the time Gavin goes down for his nap, the science projects in the refrigerator are gone, the tupperware is sorted, the floor is mopped, and the oven is clean. The plants have somehow repotted themselves.

Of course, she says it's because she can't sit still.

I say it's because there's a householdic symphony running through her head all the time: she just can't resist picking up the baton and conducting a little. It's a skill, learned because she had to learn, and she's good at it.

So Grandma knows how to run a house, you concede.

But what does this have to do with leading society?

Well, think of the world as one big dirty house, with one enormous, weedy, bug-infested, chemically-dependent yard...

...and a big, hungry, neglected family.

Now, who the heck do you want on THAT job more than Grandma?

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