Grandma's Briefs

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Shattered illusions

When I visited Bubby earlier this month, it took no time at all for my illusion of him to be shattered.

You see, Megan shares photos of Bubby all the time, and we Skype fairly regularly (except for the last few weeks when Megan's computer's been on the fritz). Because of the photos and the Skype sessions, I've been led to believe that Bubby's a big boy.

But he's not. And I learned that right away.

When I landed in the desert, Preston picked me up from the airport and we drove the nearly one hour to their house, where Bubby and Megan awaited my arrival. Preston pulled in the garage, we got out, the door to the house opened, and I heard gleeful calls from Bubby and Megan as I headed to the trunk to collect my things. I couldn't see Bubby, but I heard the pitter-patter of his bare feet coming around the back of the car to greet me.

Then he made it around the corner of the car ... and stopped me in my tracks. For standing before me wasn't the big boy I had expected to greet me, but an itsy-bitsy munchkin.

Instantly, my fear that Bubby had grown so much since I'd last held him that I'd no longer be able to hold him vanished. Instantly, the idea that the camera adds 10 pounds became a reality -- a reality multiplied to seem like even more considering those 10 pounds were added to a barely-over-30-pound frame.

Yes, Bubby may act like a big boy and look like a big boy in photos, but he's still so very much -- as his mom calls him -- a peanut.

A peanut that is just over 30 inches tall -- still quite short of a yardstick.

A peanut that can barely reach the door handles throughout the house.

A peanut whose head only slightly rises above the top of the bathtub when bathing.

A peanut that is just one little-boy-head taller than the average-sized golden retriever.

Even though photos -- including those I took myself so I know they're not Photoshopped -- make Bubby look long and large, I know now it's an illusion, that my grandson is not a big boy.

Truly, my grandson is a peanut.

But that's just fine with me because he's a peanut this grandma can easily lift to see into the display case when choosing from the 31 flavors at the ice cream parlor.

A peanut this grandma can easily carry up the long flight of stairs to his bedroom after he falls asleep in the car.

A peanut this grandma has no trouble holding up to the mirror so together we can laugh at his funky robot hat.

A peanut this grandma can easily lift from the bathtub, wrap in a towel, and carry to his bed for pajama time.

A peanut that easily fits in this grandma's lap for hugging and rocking and reading bedtime stories.

There's no way around it: Bubby is a peanut. And that's okay. Because this grandma is huge lover of peanuts.

Especially peanuts that go by the name of Bubby.

Today's question:

What is your favorite food featuring peanuts?