DAVE: Staycation

I had plans last night, but they got waylaid. I was heading out when my iphone rang or chirped or did whatever it does when someone wants to FaceTime. It was my granddaughter Aubrey, calling from Denver. I settled into a comfy chair and answered.

Aubrey is wonderful and cute. And thanks to the FaceTime, I can see she now has short hair.

Sandy, my late wife, and I raised Aubrey until she was eight years old. And she still, and will always, have a room here. She’ll be visiting for a week over Spring Break, just days before turning 13. I’ll have to find some fun stuff to do. (Thankfully, there’s a list of fun stuff to do on pages 14 and 16.)

Aubrey reminds me of what it was like to be a preteen. She complains about mandatory attendance of Spirit Week at school. About chores she has to do at home. About how stupid boys are. (Except for Zander. Hmm, that’s new.)

She knows I’m dating someone and asks me how that is going. She wants to hear all about it because, according to her, dating in your 50s is cool. She has no idea how uncool it is. She says she doesn’t want me sitting on the couch alone. So I assure her I will forge ahead.

I ask her if she has any cool words for me to try out. Some of her past gems have been “on fleek,” “woke,” and “suss” – as in “suspect.” She keeps me up on her junior high vocabulary.  I ask about her squad (A squad is a group of friends. I learned that a while ago). She’s quick to tell me she still says things like “dope” and “rad.” She thinks those words are cool. I assure her they were…in the 80s.

So, for now it’s a live video chat. Soon, it will be warm hugs, smiles and Spring Break together. A vacation for her and staycation for me. Rad.