Chinese Grandparents

I have decided to make an intense study of the eating and exercise habits of Chinese people. I decided this while watching a group of Chinese grandparents meet for their weekly play date at a park near our house. Normally, I don't like to make generalizations, but since the only grandparents meeting for a play group at the park were Chinese, I feel its acceptable.

I should clarify when I say grandparents I don't mean the kind that are in their 50s, 60s, or even 70s. The youngest Chinese grandparents at the park were in their early 80s and the children they cared ranged in age from 6 months to 6 years.

For over an hour I watched these 80 and 90 year old grandparents chase these children around the park. Discipline them. Encourage them. And teach them. They did more in an hour then I probably do in a day. And there they were shuffling around after the toddlers from one area of the playground to another while I sat on a bench and sipped my latte.

I was particularly amazed when I watched a meek looking grandfather that had to be almost 100 lift a very large, happy baby out of his stroller and carry him to the slide. The grandmother wasn't too far behind and both of them shuffled in unison while their chubby grandson smiled out over his grandfather's lean shoulder.

When they arrived at the slide, the grandmother pulled a wadded up tissue from her sleeve. I assumed she was going to wipe her eyes, like all Italian grandmothers do with the wadded up tissues in their sleeves. But instead I watched her take the tissue and wipe down the slide from top to bottom. She even wiped the sides just in case her precious grandson happen to place his chubby hand over the edge while he slid down.

The grandfather lifted the baby up to the top of the slide and the Chinese grandparents clapped as he slid to the bottom and screamed with glee. The grandfather lifted up at least 10 times before the baby decided he'd had enough and started to fuss. I am sure the grandfather would have lifted him up to the top of the slide 100 more times if the screams of glee had continued.

Josie and Owen interrupted my anthropological study by screaming that they wanted to go on the swings. I groaned and arched my back as I stood up from the park bench and slowly made my way to the swings.

I always loved being Italian. But now I am thinking that it might be really great to be Chinese. Because that would mean my children would have Chinese grandparents and they could be watching Josie and Owen while I stayed home and watched TV.