My surprise over the past few winters has been the personality transformation my parents go through around mid-December as they change from Dad and Mom into Grandpa and Grandma. Yes, they become grandparents and are completely different from the people I know the other eleven and a half months of the year.
The first sign of my parents’ change is the delight they take in visiting toy and children’s clothing stores. These two people, who usually dislike anything having to do with shopping malls, become crazy consumers. While they tell me to budget my money and shop wisely, they are buying up every doll and dump truck in sight. And this is only the beginning of the holidays!
When my brother’s children arrive, Grandpa and Grandma come into full form. First they throw out all ideas about a balanced diet for the grandkids. While we were raised in a house where everyone had to take two bites of corn, beets(甜菜), or liver (foods that appeared quite often on our table despite constant complaining), the grandchildren never have to eat anything that does not appeal to them. Grandma carries chocolate in her pockets to bribe(贿赂)the littlest ones into following her around the house, while Grandpa offers “surprises” of candy and cake to them all day long. Boxes of chocolate-pie disappear while the whole-wheat bread get hard and stale. The kids love all the sweets, and when the sugar raises their energy levels, Grandma and Grandpa can always decide to leave and do a bit more shopping or go to bed while my brother and sister-in-law try to deal with their highly active kids.
Once the grandchildren have arrived, Grandma and Grandpa also seem to forget all of the responsibility lectures I so often hear in my daily life. If Mickey screams at his sister during dinner, he is “developing his own personality”; if Nancy breaks Grandma’s mirror, she is “just a curious child”. But, if I track mud into the house while helping to unload groceries, I become “careless”; if I scold one of the grandkids for tearing pages out of my textbook, I am “ impatient”. If Paula talks back to her mother, Grandma and Grandpa smile at her spirit. If I say one word about all of this excessive love, Mom and Dad reappear to have a talk with me about petty jealousies.