Typically, my day starts early and slow. A little writing. A little coffee. A little sitting around. That all goes out the window with grandkids in the house. Yesterday started out with a little writing, but just as I was wrapping up, a tiny face appeared in the crack of the bedroom door to ask if I was up. I was. I asked for a few minutes to finish up, then bang, the day started.

Out first stop was tacos with our friends from Pasadena who own property just down the road from us. My daughter made the breakfast tacos and we went to see them and their alpacas. The little boy is both fascinated and frightened of the big animals. Last time he was here I told him if he was holding my hand they wouldn’t even notice him. I think he thought I meant he’d be invisible. So, clutching his invisibility cloak we got past them and made it into the house. It was a good visit.

Before lunch we went for a walk in the park next door, then we took a nap while the kids watched movies. Casual. Then it was time for dinner, pizza, and the big event—cake and ice cream. I’d retrieved the cake earlier in the day after the alpacas, but never let on what it was. I think the birthday boy was convinced there was no cake. Then came the reveal, Spiderman fighting a shark. His eyes went wide, his little hands clinched in excitement, and he exclaimed, “It’s just what I imagined.” And that’s how you learn that dreams can come true.

John W. Wilson is the author of The Long Goodbye: A Caregiver’s Tale