A WEEK of it!

WHO SAID LOOKING AFTER TWO GRANDDAUGHTERS WOULD BE A WALK IN THE PARK?

My granddaughters got their mother to email a list of what they called “acceptable food”, which is to say, the things they were prepared to eat when they came down from Auckland to stay for a whole week of the school holidays with us. The only item that really surprised me was the egg white-only toasted sandwich.

Otherwise, it was the usual kids’ stuff – cheerios, spag bol, rice crackers, macaroni cheese and pancakes. “Not those cheerios with the cheese in them,” said the message. Ages back, I tried to feed them some cheesy ones, which I’d accidentally bought.

When it comes to food, little kids never forget – and it’s best that I don’t forget either. There won’t be much chance of that thanks to the list, which does go on a bit. Red apples, not green, hot dogs on a stick (fat chance), no tomato sauce, nachos, no cheese and no beans (good grief) and peach sponge as often as possible.

But first, I had to go to Auckland to get the girls. They’d never been away from home for so long before, so there was a lot of excitement building up. Also nervousness – on both sides. A week is quite a long time with a five-year-old and her eight-year-old big sister. They’re a very characterful and lively pair, and get along like twins, despite the age gap.

They’re also as cute as peas and contain at least twice as much fibre. The little one, Kura, is hilarious, with a voice like a foghorn. Even whispering, she can be heard across the street. The older one, Miharo, has a calmer presence, which is probably a good thing.

I drove up to Auckland where I picked up the darling wife, who’d been there on business, and the granddaughters, who were in a state of mixed emotions. There was a drawn-out dramatic farewell with their mum and dad, and when we hit the road south, the trip didn’t go well at first.

They cried all the way to Huntly. Whenever I looked in the rear-vision mirror, all I saw was grief. Distraction was pointless and only made things worse till I couldn’t hear the 50 Silly Songs CD I was playing for all the horrible howling. “This might be a bit of a challenge,” I said to my darling.

“It’s not going to be a walk in the park,” she observed.

“Though we might go for a walk in the park, if it stops raining,” I said.

Then suddenly, the mood in the back seat changed and cheer filled the car like warm air. There were sporadic games to see who could spot a yellow car, the first horse in a field. There was a brief attempt at the dreaded I Spy and by the time we got to Taupo, the back seat declared, “This is the best day ever.”

We stayed the night at the great lake in a little cabin where the girls had the choice of three bunks. Miharo went for the very top one. We went to the hot pools and had takeaways for dinner, and everyone slept like logs. By the time we got to Wellington, it felt like nothing could possibly go wrong. Though, as mentioned, a week is a long time.