Bill Leslie: Babies, bubbles and birthdays

Time is one of the sweetest rewards of retirement. You simply have more time to spend with the people you love.

You have more time to do the things that make them happy.

I’ve spent a lot of time lately on bubbles, babies and birthdays. And I’ve had a blast! Okay. That should take care of my alliteration habit for the day!

The big birthday number is three for my two granddaughters -- three years for Elizabeth and three months for Ava.

Elizabeth celebrated with a shower of bubbles from her new soap machine. Another favorite gift was a small piano with a real microphone. Elizabeth is an extravert. She loves a stage and she loves to sing. Sounds a lot like her Pops.

Ava is also very vocal for her age.

Her babbling began early. She seems to respond to her parents when they say, “Tell us more, Ava! Tell us more!” The latest development is something akin to singing. It’s a sweet little voice with a surprising range.

A recent family highlight was a four-generation photograph. It featured Ava, her father Will, her grandmother Cindy and her great-grandmother Margie.

When Ava became fussy, Margie insisted she take over. It worked like a charm. Ava fell asleep in the arms of her great-granny.

I haven’t had much experience putting babies to bed. For most of my adult life I went to bed before the babies. Cindy handled those chores while I rested up for the morning news.

But things are different now, and I can help with child sitting. I recently took care of Elizabeth for two consecutive days.

I was a little nervous but things worked out well.

I was nervous because of my first experience as a child sitter. I was a teenager in Morganton. My oldest sister, Stephanie, asked me to take care of her daughter Leslie Scott. Everything went smoothly. Change of diaper. Bedtime story. A lullaby and off to sleep she went.

Only one problem -- I forgot to take her shoes off! We still laugh about that today!

I would love to hear your stories about raising children. If you have a good one, email me at bleslie@wral.com and I will feature it in a future story.

Later this week, I will have a follow-up story on tomato sandwiches. I’ll share something interesting I learned about a local connection to those delicious heirloom tomatoes we love this time of year.