I miss my 8-year-old grandson, who calls me Lola with a perfectly rounded “O”. He in California, and I in the Philippines, I watched him on facetime weeks ago as he very attentively rehearsed for a piano recital: a skippy Minuet and a winsome adagio that he was aiming to perform with perfection. Quite obedient to his father’s request, my grandson repeatedly practiced the pieces, as well as the introduction to his performance – of course, to my sheer delight, because I don’t tire watching this darling boy at all, playing music or just playing, or doing anything at all.

To my amusement, I noticed that my grandson would often look at the computer to check if I was watching. That thrilled me; my watching mattered to him. I enthusiastically though silently clapped after every piece to avoid unnecessary interruption in the rehearsal flow.

I shall call him by his name this time – Eliott, the artist who created the artwork, at the age of seven, that was used as cover of my first two published books: Book 1: Poetry (for children and the wisely curious), and Book 11: Simply Awed (poetry, vignettes and dreams). Both are on Amazon and Barnes and Noble, with hardbound available on Xlibris Publishing. I am especially fascinated with the shapes and colors he put together to present what he called “The City”, shades of grey, and orange in mixed forms set against white, impressionistic art cleverly orchestrated – especially by a young artist that age.

I am so very proud of this boy, who calls me Lola with a perfectly rounded “O”. I think I miss hearing that, too, as I’m on the other side of the globe, over 7,000 miles from him.

After a brief chat with my son and when our facetime session ended, Eliott was deeply engrossed in playing a game on the small computer (his parent’s iPhone), one of the allowed activities after a chore or piano practice, or other good reasons. You bet, it’s a game from his parents’ endorsed list. Trying to catch his attention for a wave, a bye or a nod – I realized I was no match for his activity at that moment. But hey, I thought, that gadget is no match for me either … Eliott doesn’t call that computer Lola with a perfectly rounded “O”.

So, I’ll wait for my screen kiss, next time I facetime.

Linda P. Jacob