My deprived childhood: I sure wish I could have had duck lights like these

When I was quite small, my family always took one vacation per year, and always to the same place: Ogden, Utah, where my grandparents from both sides of the family lived. 

On the maternal side, that meant just my grandma, as Grandpa Roderick died when I was one. Other than a few hazy, mysterious, mental images that I believe come from the gathering that accompanied his funeral, I have no memory of him, but I do remember the plastic ducks that my Grandmother Roderick kept in her tiny house. There was a yellow one, and a red one.

I loved those ducks. As soon as we arrived at her house, I would go straight for those ducks. 

I always wanted ducks like that for myself, but, damnit, my mother would never get me any.

She believed in frugality.

When the time came for my grandma's estate to be divided among her descendents, I had grown into a young adult. There were two items that I wanted from her estate, and two items only - the yellow duck and the red duck.

I never got them.

God! My life has been hard!

So imagine my surprise, delight, jealousy, envy and pain when I walked into my grandson's bedroom to see the latest gift his parents had bestowed upon him.

Duck lights! Strung over his crib!

I thought about stealing them, to string over our bed, but his grandma would not have been happy with me. 

So I thought about kicking him out of his crib, so that I could sleep there myself, beneath the duck lights, but I feared that it would break beneath me.

Then his parents would have insisted that I buy a new crib.

I cannot be buying cribs right now.

Kalib also got a "Tyke Light."

It is just a little bit spooky.

Welcome home, Lavina.

Too bad I did not have a card in my camera when you entered my office with a naked Kalib in your arms and I took all those wonderful pictures.

Comments

[Jaybop]

Kalib can thank one of his aunt's for the ducks. I think it was a B-Day present.