Making Coffee with Sarah and Jessica

Tonight, we had a sleepover at our house for granddaughters, Sarah and Jessica (now 2 years, 3 mo old). After their dinner, I began assembling coffee for tomorrow morning. Sarah came over to me and said "big chair" while pointing to one of the chairs in the breakfast room. I knew immediately that she wanted a chair to stand on, so she could see what I was doing. I grabbed a chair with my good arm (still recuperating from shoulder surgery) and dragged it up to the counter. She managed to get into the chair by herself and stood up beside me.

I measured a half spoon of coffee grounds and held over the basket, as she stood on her toes to see what I was doing.

"Do you want to dump it in, Sarah?"

"Yeah!" she said gleefully, as she reached over and twisted the spoon, while I held it firmly to be sure it all went in the basket. Sarah was delighted.

"Do you want to smell it, Sarah?"

"Yeah!"

I held up the coffee bag for her and she stuck her face into the bag to get a good whiff.

"Do you like it?"

"Yeah!"

"Would you like to touch it?"

"Yeah!" she said and stuck her little forefinger into the coffee basket gingerly. Then she withdrew her finger with grounds stuck to it and stared with total intrigue, turning her finger around to see different views. I showed her how to flick her fingers back and forth to get the coffee off and she did it obediently.

Along came Jessica and she wanted to get in on the action. She climbed up in the chair with Sarah and I made sure they both were stable, then proceeded to show her what was going on. We repeated the scenario, with Jessica answering "Yes!" in her own sweet way to each of the see-smell-touch questions.

Anne showed up behind Jessica. I don't know exactly how it all happened, but very quickly, Jessica, Sarah, and Anne had coffee on their faces and there was delighted giggling taking place.

I guess this did not last more than 10 minutes. It was one of the most wonderful experiences I have had with these little girls. I loved seeing their natural curiosity and intellect seek new knowledge with their grandparents.

I will cherish the memory.