I have the Lolo syndrome!

I catch myself doing crazy, inane things like talking to Ananda, my grand daughter, sometimes for 20 minutes even when I don’t get a single decent word, much less a real answer from her. I gaze at her almond shaped hazel eyes which speak of a thousand wonders that she sees around her world, her killer smile that can only be caused by the presence of all the invisible angels surrounding her, and her tiny squeaks, peeps and noises that must contain more profundity than all the blabber she gets from her Lolo. By now, I surmise you’ve kinda caught on how crazy I am about my apo, how this little princess has me wrapped around her tiny fingers.

Babies have to be the most powerful people on earth! They cry and the whole house goes in a tizzy with Lola Lydia, Lolo Jim, Tita Ala, and Tito Mio all asking her mom Erica and yaya Cita what’s wrong. Sometimes, we all need to even go rushing by her side to investigate and ask in our best silly baby-talk a heartfelt “what’s wrong, baby?” I may have a headache, a bad day, busy doing something or be very tired from gym or any other activity, but the mere presence of Ananda in the room gets me up and about in a lolo mode, hovering around her and acting silly. Sometimes I wonder if Ananda ever asks in her mind why everyone in the house talks to her like she’s an idiot!!

My grandfather on my dad’s side was a lot of fun. He used to play his lolo role to the hilt. He was magical and funny and he liked to make up claims which we all liked to believe to be true. For example, he had us believing that he had no ticklish spot in his body save for his thumb! Or that one time he had suspenders so tight that his feet were floating above ground! And he had a library that was full of wonder and treasures in the eyes of this young boy who was at that time below ten. He had old stamps, “Japanese-time” money, samurai and fencing swords, strange collections of this-and that. But my favorite was a garapon, a see-through bottle which contained a lot of marbles. He would ask me to shake the bottle around so the marbles would move and expose what was hidden inside. He would laugh aloud when his young apos would blush seeing that there was a statue of a naked woman behind the marbles. An exposed boob here, a leg, a thigh there while we were all screaming with both embarrassment and guilty pleasure!

He was also very kind. He always had time for people, most especially his apos. He would sit with us and tell us fantastic, funny stories and surreptitiously put some candies or money into our pockets.

So Ananda, you better watch out! Grandfathers are more fun than parents and yes, crazier too! Your Lolo Jim had a great role model, and I intend to pass on this great legacy!