Christmas Night, 1990
From the diary of Eleanor Chance
My brother Seth called tonight from Arizona, and we spent a good amount of time bragging about our grandchildren. Seth and Joyce ended up with four kids — three sons and a daughter — while Archie and I only had Jonathan. So it’s not surprising that Seth has ten grandchildren to my three.
Not that I’m comparing or complaining. In fact, ten grandchildren on Christmas Day had worn Seth to a frazzle, even though he’d never admit it. I can only imagine.
We had enough ruckus with Jack, Nicky and Gabe trying out their new games. And don’t get me started on the subject of Nerf footballs. Yes, they’re soft and supposedly can be played with in the house, but they inspire all manner of tackling and running and throwing. Archie bought them each one without consulting me.
Seth got a kick out of the Nerf football drama. Then he had to tell me about his three-year-old granddaughter, Molly, who spent the entire day dressed as a princess, complete with tiara. About the only thing I envy Seth is that he has granddaughters as well as grandsons. Molly sounds like a pip, smart and funny. According to Seth, she has her two older brothers buffaloed.
Maybe next spring Archie and I can fly down to spend time with the Gallagher clan. We haven’t visited in quite a while. Seth and Joyce came up to Jackson Hole two years ago, but I haven’t seen my three nephews and my niece since they were kids. Now they have kids of their own.
According to Seth, everyone’s doing great except his daughter Heather. She married a hard-drinking rodeo man, which means they travel a lot. Seth doesn’t think they’re very happy. They have one son, Cade, who’s the same age as little Molly. Seth is worried about what will happen to that tyke as he’s tossed from pillar to post.
Makes me thankful that my grandkids are all right here where I can see them every day. I cherish that most of the time. All right, I cherish it all the time, even when they’re playing Nerf football in the living room. I didn’t need that vase anyway.