A day at the water park is the day I realize just how old I am. No matter how badly I want to be nine years old again, it just isn’t happening. The final straw comes when grandpa gets stuck in his inner tube among a crowd of wave riders at the ocean wave lagoon. Wave after relentless wave pushes my helpless body back onto the beach, which is actually cement painted to look like sand. Ouch!

After much struggle, Emily is able to rescue grandpa as he lay like a beached whale on the edge of the beach. Grandpa finds a beach chair and watches from a far as Emily enjoys the waves.

My favorite day of all is being able to sit in air conditioned comfort next to Emily as we enjoy a bag of popcorn and watch “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”. I was surprised that Emily knew their names. I didn’t even know they had names. The seats are very plush and I love that air conditioning. No waves, no sweating. Nice!

It’s been a week now since we took Emily back home to her parents. A few days later she started the 4th grade.

The house is quiet now. There is no rush anymore to get out the door and head off to another outing, another adventure. Things are back to normal.

I miss her!

Emily makes me feel young again.

She loves me unconditionally.

She thinks I’m great.

And I think she’s great too.

I wonder if my grandpa, the guy in the window, thought the same thing about me.

I bet he did.