Little Girl TV

I am sitting here on the bed in my hotel room, sharing the sitting space with my 4 year old granddaughter. My daughter had to do a few errands before our day in the city, so she left Charlotte here with me for a bit. It's an interesting experience, to see the world through her eyes, to get her perspective.

For example, she has no perspective on the wheelchair, no perspective on the way I get around or struggle in or out of it. ALS came to me at about the same time as she was born; she has no recollection of me other than in my wheelchair. While she was still a babe in arms, I left my ex-wife; my daughter and her husband moved into the house that was once my home. Charlotte didn't see me for some time, and by the time she did, I was no longer walking. The wheelchair means nothing to her; it is just a part of who Gramdpa is.

There there is the whole "apartment" experience. When my children were little, they had no idea what an apartment was. We lived in a house, Grandpa and Grandma lived in a house. Grandpa With The Mustache lived in a house. Nanny lived in a house. Everybody lived in a house. Their only exposure was to apartments; we traveled and stayed in hotels regularly. So when my Mom and Ray move to an apartment from their house in Maple Ridge, my kids got their first look at this new style of living.

They were amazed! "Grandma lives in a hotel!". they wondered. "Does Grandma's hotel have room service?", they asked. "Grandma's hotel has a kitchen," they shouted in glee. Charlotte, on the other hand, has no trouble with apartments; it's hotels that confuse here. She doesn't understand why I am not in my own "apartment" or why my "apartment" doesn't have a living room.

She is glad, however, that this "apartment" has a "magic shower", just like my other apartment. Apparently that is what you call a shower with a wand attachment and a bench. And of course she has had to try out the toilet several times. There is nothing quite so exciting as a new potty to try out. She even got to open her own soap and wash, and wash, and wash her hands.

One thing Charlotte does think is very cool; this "apartment" has a TV in the bedroom, something she clearly wants in her own bedroom. She is watching her "little girl TV", the children's shows she is permitted to watch at home. She likes that I have little girl TV. I like that I have this little girl keeping me company, watching TV. It's nice.