Front Porch: Falling into fun with the grandkids

It’s hard enough to say goodbye to your grandkids, but leaving them on a day when the temperature in Columbus, Ohio, topped 79 degrees just added insult to injury. Especially since the day we returned, Spokane made it to a whopping 47.

Fall is our favorite season to visit our son and his family in Ohio. They live in a suburb surrounded by farmland east of Columbus. While it can get chilly and even snow in October like Spokane, we almost always get several days of sunshine.

This year, Ohio showed off. Every day was as brilliantly sunny as our twin grandsons.

Our first order of business was pumpkin picking at Pigeon Roost Farm. We visited the site last year and noticed they had a host of attractions for kids besides choosing pumpkins. We arrived early on a Thursday afternoon, so there were no crowds.

Adam and Nick dove into a play area filled with corn kernels, gleefully making “corn angels” and filling and dumping toy tractors, trucks and buckets.

They met goats, chickens and bunnies, zoomed down a host of slides, ran in a giant gerbil wheel, whizzed down a zipline and enjoyed their first hayride. Just when we thought we’d worn them out, they found a giant sandpit filled with more toys.

We took two filthy boys to our Airbnb and dumped them in the bathtub with their plastic spider souvenirs. I supervised the scrubbing while Derek whipped up his famous spicy spaghetti.

When our son Alex and the twins’ sister Farrah joined us for dinner, the boys begged to spend the night.

Their dad agreed. At bedtime, I gave them the Halloween flashlights we’d brought. They climbed into our bed, and we took turns telling spooky stories and practicing shadow puppets. I promised them 10 minutes of flashlight time in their own bed, and when I went to retrieve the lights, the boys were already nodding off.

So were Derek and I.

After a breakfast of bacon, eggs and cinnamon rolls, we took them to what they call “the little playground” by our rental, followed by our annual trek to Spirit Halloween.

We knew dinner at Chuck E. Cheese would tucker them out for sleepover No. 2. Sure enough, Nick dozed off in the car. He woke up in time to help Papa and Adam decorate a spooky gingerbread house. As expected, they ate and wore as much frosting as they used on the house, but a warm bath before bed got rid of sticky fingers, mouths and hair.

Finally, it was Farrah’s turn for a sleepover. Her day included shopping at the mall, dinner at a local pub, decorating Halloween cookies, and cuddling up with a movie and popcorn at our place. Eleven-year-old girls stay up later than 4-year-old boys, but they also sleep in, which Derek and I appreciate.

In the morning, we picked up her brothers and took everyone to see “The Wild Robot” at the movie theater while beef stew simmered in the slow cooker at the Airbnb.

The next day, Farrah returned to school, and we picked up the twins to take them to the “big playground.”

We watched them run, swing, slide and climb. Adam paused and pointed to a beautiful tree with scarlet leaves.

“Look, Nana! Fall!” he said and ran to scoop up a leaf for me.

Back at our place, I baked sugar cookies so they could decorate them to look like bloody eyeballs. We served them for dessert after a pizza dinner at their house, and then it was time to say goodbye. The next time we see them, they’ll be 5!

We traded the warmth of Ohio and the hugs and kisses of grandkids for the chill of Spokane and two cats who acted like they barely noticed we’d been gone.

It’s a cold, dreary morning as I write. From my office window, I see leaves spin slowly downward, dispirited by the dearth of sunlight.

Sipping my coffee, I watch Derek close the gazebo for the year. He empties the planters and flower pots and covers the deck table for winter.

My glumness turns to gratitude as I watch him work. While I miss our grandkids, I’m so thankful to share this grandparenting adventure with him.

It’s really not about the seasons – it’s who you spend them with that matters.

Cindy Hval can be reached at dchval@juno.com. Hval is the author of “War Bonds: Love Stories from the Greatest Generation” (Casemate Publishers, 2015) available at Auntie’s Bookstore and bookstores nationwide.