Today is our grandson’s fifth birthday. He was so excited last night that he was having trouble going to sleep. We anticipated the excitement. After all he isn’t our first experience with a five year old. After supper we went for a bike ride around the bay to help him get out some of the physical energy that was building up. That was followed by a bath to calm and sooth. But there are some excitements that are too great to be cast aside.

His birthday celebration is a bit unique this year for several reasons. His father is at the mid point of a six-month deployment overseas. We often are aware of the sacrifices that service people make. We have Veteran’s Day each year to thank them for their service. It isn’t just the enlisted person who sacrifices for service, however. Their entire families make concessions to allow their service. A six month separation is a long time for a five year old. There are, however some technological advances that help the families of service people. Our five year old gets to have video chats with his father almost every day. Half a world away, his father is winding down in the evening after work as the boy is waking up and starting his day. His dad will be on the phone this morning to speak with him and recall some of their shared memories of five years.

Another unique thing about this birthday is that our five year old is not at his own home. He and his mother are visiting here in Washington. That means that we get to be with him on his birthday, which is a special treat for us. And his cousins will all be with him for his birthday party this evening, which is a special treat for him. However, none of his South Carolina friends can be with us. He had a small birthday party, complete with a cake, before he left South Carolina, so his celebration is a bit spread out this year.

We’ve got plenty of birthday plans for today. After he gets up and has his good morning/happy birthday phone call with his father, we’ll be heading to a donut shop for breakfast. Like the five year old, grandpa likes donuts, but doesn’t make them a regular part of his diet, so the treat is for more than the grandson.

Another request the 5 year old has made for his birthday is to play in the ocean. That’s an easy one for us. The forecast is for sunny skies and temperatures in the low seventies today. That’s a bit cooler than it was over the weekend, but still warm enough for water play at the beach. High tide is about 11 am and the beach is within walking distance, though we may drive a bit to another beach.

His cousins helped bake the birthday cake yesterday and will be coming over to our house to help with decorating it. He wanted a Minecraft theme for his birthday party, and fortunately Minecraft characters are made from simple geometric shapes, so the biggest challenge to making a Creeper cake will be getting the right shade of green for the frosting. The basic shape has already been made, so decorating will be great fun for the children.

His oldest cousin is attending a technology day camp this week, so will not be available until late afternoon and his uncle will be busy at work until dinner time, so there will be some waiting to unwrap presents and have a go at the piñata. Waiting seems to be part of birthday celebrations and waiting is hard for a five year old, but there are plenty of activities to fill up the day.

The day is one of the rewards of my retirement. Regular readers of this journal know that it has been process for me to settle into retirement. I’ve struggled a bit. Today, however, it seems like a great luxury to be able to just focus my time and attention on celebrating a birthday with a five year old. His father doesn’t have a day off to just celebrate with his family. His mother isn’t working outside of the home right now, but she has a lot of responsibilities to juggle with her husband overseas. His uncle still has the commute and a day at the office before he can join the celebration. Grandparents, however, are free to give an entire day to birthday celebration without giving up anything else.

Because my father was diagnosed with terminal cancer not long after he started to retire and he died before our first child was born, he never got the opportunity that I enjoy every day of having retirement time to be with grandchildren. And there are so many wonderful treats of being retired and available to play with grandchildren. I can go on a bike ride whenever the notion strikes a five year old. I can play in the ocean in the middle of the day and shower up more than once if the urge grips us. I wouldn’t be healthy if everyday started with donuts and ended with pizza, cake, and ice cream, but one day with lots of food treats won’t disrupt my lifestyle. And around the edges of my day, I have all of the memories of my father and other family members and I know how much they would have enjoyed the blessings that inhabit my life.

I don’t remember much about birthday celebrations in my childhood. My mother made some pretty impressive cakes and provided the inspiration to make character cakes for grandchild birthdays. But as the years have passed the memories layer one upon another and some of the details are lost. I can, however, remember a glorious trip we took the summer I turned six. My parents had a capable long-distance airplane for their business and we made the trip from Montana to Washington DC with a single fuel stop in Indianapolis. I’m not sure how long we were in DC, but we had a day on the Mall to visit the Smithsonian and view the White House and Monuments. We climbed the stairs to the top of the Washington Memorial and marveled at the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials.

We also drove across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge to Delaware where we spent one night at the beach. I have pictures of my father playing with us in the water there. I have memories that go beyond the pictures. It was a good time.

I hope we can create some memories for a five year old that will last a lifetime. And I hope that one day he will experience the deep joy that being a grandpa brings.