Off To The Grandparents House We Go

Our ‘Seven Months in Siam’ has been made possible thanks to the support of two very special people , Opa and Yai (one Dutch sounding Grandparent , although he is Scottish, the other a gorgeous Thai lady ). Had they not opened their homes and been so accommodating, literally, our journey and life here would not have been made so easy.

We moved into their home in Khao Takieb on arrival which was furnished , a fully stocked kitchen , all bed linens , towels and sundries. The fridge was full of fruit , bread , milk and cheese. There was good coffee and British teabags , a car was in the driveway for our use (full tank of diesel ) and nothing had been overlooked!

Each weekend that Justin is away working in California , the kids and I close up the beach house in Khao Takieb and make our way down south , 24km to Pranburi to their beautiful and welcoming estate. Their home sits on 5 rai ( about 2 acres) with a Thai style house , a clothing boutique, pool, and a pond.

The kids had that glint of mischief in their eyes about jumping into the pond when we first arrived , until we scared the life out of them by telling them a large Komodo dragon lives in it ( the truth…for once )! Not one kid has been brave enough to venture to the back of the property to the pond which suits us all just fine. There is no fishing in the pond either as Yai is a lovely Buddhist and doesn’t like the idea of sport fishing. Dad thinks the big lizard has eaten all of the fish that lived in there anyways.

We arrive early afternoon Friday , unpack , and settle into the lower floor of their home. It has been built with 2 bedrooms , 2 bathroom and kitchen downstairs which becomes a completely self contained apartment for our use whilst we are here. Opa and Yai live upstairs for which I’m sure they are happy for it not being the reverse ,as the kids running around on wooden floors would most definitely cause some lost sleep. This is perfect for us and we have direct access to the outside and pool. Very comfortable indeed.

Emmalynn (7) being the little fashion diva of the family , jumps out of the car the moment we come through their gate and runs to Yai’s shop. She delights in dressing up in the fashion and wigs , dancing around in sparkly high heels all provided to her by her Yai who happily tolerates her incessant questions and song renditions.

The boys have the space they need here to run and play. They swim

, explore , play with their newly bought from pocket money , RC cars , and generally annoy Opa. Rubber band gun fights on the deck , and Uncle Zack made them a tetherball pole for the ball we brought with us. Sourcing the old tire from downtown Pranburi was easy , something like, “I’ll give you a dollar for that old tire outside your shop” and the deal was done, tire in the back of the truck back to the house for the project.

Yai is the most wonderful cook making us curries with rice , platters of fruit , etc. There are sodas and kettle corn bought from a roadside stand by them , ready for the kids arrival each week, hamburgers and French fries for lunch and a movie in the evening on the big TV upstairs. Last night it was Spider-Man , way too loud but all tolerated by the elders.

Sometimes when we are here there is a domino tournament at the dining table and that is fun for all ! The kids and ourselves use this as a way of learning the Thai numbers as well as socialising with non English speaking relatives , numbers are numbers and having a laugh is universal.

Birdie comes with us and is becoming familiar with Namchock ,the alpha male of the property. She is learning her place as this will be home for her in March onwards. Opa is bonding with her also .

We went last weekend to their temple to attend a special ceremony where the congregation fed and shared the monks breakfast. Yai showed us the way to offer the plates of food. Monks are not allowed to touch a female and so he lays down a gold cloth for the bowl to be placed , then pull that towards them.

Grandparents are wonderful and this period of time is never to be repeated and cannot be taken away from us. Bedtime stories and tales from 65 years ago that Opa recalls are a delight to hear.

For me personally , having this time with my dad is what I will treasure forever. Seeing him for coffee in the morning and hanging out , and the occasional cocktail in the evening on his veranda, but most of all , watching him and Yai with the kids is heartwarming and a special time.

The kids are exhausted when we drive home but I bet not as tired as the grandparents !