How to Babysit a Grandpa

In thinking about this week’s reading about socialization and identity development, I can’t help but think of my dad. Chayko talks about how this identity development continues to grow well into adulthood. Specific to adulthood she discusses the frequency of older adults learning digital skills in the course of adopting a new interest or hobby. She also mentions how major life-events can bring about this change or new development in identity. This is textbook my dad right now!

A year ago my dad retired and a year ago my niece (first grand baby) was born. It has been so interesting to see how those two event has led to his interest in technology. It started out by him becoming more curious about his phone and developing a need for a better camera. Then he started to take time to come up with this witty captions for photos of baby Z. This led to random group texts about all the things he was learning to do on his phone. After this he became interested in learning how to make memes. These of course were also of Z. The fun has really begun now due to his recent discovery of iMovie. It started out with making short films littered with pictures of Z. Then it evolved to included video footage which meant learning some basic editing skills. His mind was blown when he learned how to add background music! Now he is intentionally capturing footage and photos with specific movies in mind. All of this to say, as obnoxious as the group texts can be. I’ve never seen my dad happier and more excited. I don’t normally think he views himself as somebody who is creative, but boy have the creative juices been flowing. I can’t help, but wonder if this new-found interest and love for technology would exist in the absence of baby Z? She is clearly his inspiration!

This post makes me think of a sweet book about being a grandparent called, “How to Babysit a Grandpa.” This book plays with traditional adult-child roles and instead of the grandpa knowing how to care for the child, the child cares for the grandpa. To say Z knows how to keep her grandpa busy would be an understatement.