"Batten down the hatches!"

"Hide the breakable stuff."

"Tie up all the loose ends."

"Make sure there is a lot of food in the refrigerator."

"Take all the old games and puzzles out of the closet."

"Get ready to be on your best behavior."

Why? Why?

The grandchildren are coming!

The grandchildren are coming!

As the car door on the SUV opened, out stepped two innocent, charming, beguiling sisters ages 8 and 5. One is named Gillian (with a G) and one is named Rori (with an I). They are a bit sluggish from the 50-minute trip from Westchester but slowly the momentum increased.

"Are you hungry?" was my wife Lorraine's first query.

"We are starving!" came the reply.

The girls set the kitchen table and out came the lox, the bagels, the cream cheese, the salad and the cut-up fruit. They filled their plates with food and eventually ate about one-third of what they had piled on their dishes.

"Let the games begin!" was the next cry. Paints, crayons, checkers, puzzles and Magic Markers appeared and kept them on their toes for short bursts of time. "I'm bored!" was heard from the older girl and she stepped out of Lorraine's magic carpet and approached me, Grandpa.

I had taught her "Texas Hold'em" about two months ago. She had learned it well.

Out came the playing cards and the poker chips and we had a three-handed poker tournament worthy of Las Vegas. When my sweet innocent granddaughter went "All in," she broke the other two players, my son Adam, her father, and me.

Adam and I recovered from our imaginary, pretend financial losses and watched the NCAA basketball games. Soon the supper bell rang and we were at the kitchen table again. This time they ate with more gusto and relish and it was soon time to pack the SUV with presents and food (care packages). Many kisses were exchanged and they were gone.

What a whirlwind day! It was refreshing but tiring.

Let's do it again. Soon.