You could say I literally crawled into a bittersweet movie called “They Grow Up Too Fast II” and pushed the pause button. My grandson, Henry, and granddaughter, Alice, turned 1 and 5, respectively, during the last week of July. It doesn’t seem like that long ago that my two sons were the same ages (“They Grow Up Too Fast I.
”) Parents Jay and Cara, who live in Springfield, Ill., staged back-to-back birthday parties on the first Saturday of August. Alice and some preschool friends and cousins would spend a couple of hours at the Ergadoozy Creative Play Center.
Family would then gather at home to watch Henry try to eat his birthday cake. The center was definitely a doozy, with seven play areas. The super- duper was a multi-level, maze-like apparatus where kids ages 2 to around 10 can scamper, scurry, climb, tumble and generally create havoc.
Occasionally, a daring parent joins in. As mom and dad prepared the party room, Alice jumped right into the action while I held a mesmerized Henry, who as usual was happy-go-lucky. This incredibly contented toddler smiles more often than a beauty pageant contestant.
His gargantuan grin is infectious. Being near Henry is like listening to bluegrass music on the Fourth of July while eating a chocolate sundae with a cherry on top. After a few minutes of watching the children play, Jay came out to check on things and noticed Henry’s interest.
For the fun of it, we set him on the platform leading up to the second level. Henry can’t .