Grandma is partly to blame...

...but you must realize I say that with love.

My boys spend a lot of time with their paternal grandmother.

She is the mother-in-law you wished you had -- just saying.

But she's mine and I'm not sharing.

When I say she is partly to blame, here is what I really mean.

She encourages play.

She encourages nature.

She encourages discovery.

She encourages messes.

She encourages learning.

She encourages facing fears.

In fact - the more I think about it - there are few things that she discourages, 

minus the obvious...rudeness, intolerance, etc.

Recently when I picked our little guy up from our house, he and Grandma were outside enjoying the day. They were on the back patio. Little Guy had an old kids-sized cowboy hat in his hand, flipped upside down, and he was filling it with acorns.

Grandma smiled. She was enjoying observing his resourcefulness.

The hat and the acorns were then brought to our house... where he proceeded to trail them inside the front door. When I asked what he was doing, he proclaimed that he was trying to "catch a pet squirrel."

I wonder if Grandma encourages feral pets. I love that woman.