Last weekend my Japanese sister, Toko, and I traveled to South Carolina to visit my kids and their families. Our trip was wonderful, fun-filled, and informative. Of course, the highlight was our newest addition–my seven-month-old grandson.

Since Mac is my first and only grandchild, I choose not to be the bragging Grandma on social media, but admittedly he is delightful and very amusing. As our stay progressed, so did my frustration. “It’s not fair” echoed through my mind. No, my feeling of unfairness is not because I won’t live long enough to watch him graduate from high school, nor college, it is solely because he’s a great baby! A baby that sleeps twelve hours at night, a baby who smiles and doesn’t cry, a baby who waits patiently to be fed or changed, a baby who lets nothing bother him.

In contrast, his mother was a real handful. She never slept twelve hours at a time. She was always into everything, with the attention span of a gnat. Granted she grew up, self-actualized, and is highly successful, but I remain rather stunned her child is so easy. Perhaps, when he masters walking, he will exasperate his mom’s patience. I can only hope.

(One more thing I learned. Our flights required a plane change in Charlotte, NC. The ONLY airport I’ve ever been in that doesn’t sell newspapers. What’s up with that? Thank God, we didn’t run out of toilet paper on our flight back to Phoenix!)