Everyone knows that grandchildren are perfect, at least in the eyes of their grandparents. Therefore, you might not want to read further because this is about our 20-month and four- year- old grandsons, and not yours.

In our nine short days on vacation together with our grandsons and their parents, here are some things I have learned.

• Going from one-word to two to three-word sentences can happen in nine days, as can independent stair-climbing and descending.
  
• A four-year old can start most sentences with “Actually…” or “At some point…” The rest seem to start with “In olden days…”
  
• One can laugh at made-up “jokes” that make no sense.
  
• Shooting hoops can be a four-year-old’s day-long activity, and somehow a 20-month old can participate, except when napping.
  
• Throwing rocks into a stream is endlessly fascinating, especially if the grandparents provide the rocks.
  
• There is a new kind of unconditional love in my life.