This is one of the playspaces of my beautiful little granddaughter.

Let me tell you what it's like to be a grandfather. At first, when I found out that this was pending, I wasn't too excited. After all, the kids lived right near Washington DC, which was about a five hour drive from NYC. It seemed like just one more inconvenience in my already cluttered life.

But then, the day after the big NYC blackout, my son phoned me and said it's time. So we went rushing down to DC in time to see my new granddaughter about an hour after she was born. As I watched her the next day, she was already moving her tiny hands and grabbing onto things. I felt something inside me change. I was a grandfather.

About six months after that, my son told me that they were moving to northern Virginia, about forty miles further from NYC than where they were currently living. So I started thinking about whether I wanted to be a long-distance grandfather. And I thought about what it would mean to move to the country after over 60 years in NYC, and I found the whole idea very appealing. When I told the Hobbitt that I thought we should move closer to our children, I didn't have to ask twice.

So we found a home out in the farm country, about 20 miles from my son's new house. It was a big change moving from a crowded city to a rural area that turned out to be a paradise.

And now, my little granddaughter is about two an a half years old, learning how to talk and fascinated with all of life's new experiences. It's a pure pleasure whenever we get to spend some time with her. I can finally understand the motivation of all of the people that I've known who've pulled up stakes and moved to be closer to their children and grandchildren.