For a long time now, I’ve known that God got it right when He decided that young women would be the ones bearing children.

That was reinforced last week after a day caring for my three-year-old granddaughter at my house. Her energy all day was at an awesome level. I’d forgotten that the attention span of a preschooler lasts about as long as it takes an ice cube to melt at the beach on an August day.

This is my only grandchild. In her short life she has always lived in a different state than I do, so I’ve never been on call to babysit for an evening, a day, or even in an emergency, like most of my peers who are grandparents. But now she and her parents are in Minnesota, just three to four hours from my door. Somehow it feels like they’re living next door, especially considering there used to be 600 miles between us.

I used to worry that Charlie would forget who I am since we didn’t see each other often. Now that she’s three, though, it’s okay. I still don’t know that she really understands what Iowa is or where it is, although she could quite laboriously and proudly say “I-o-wa!” before she was two.

On the day we spent together, Charlie tried out most every toy I have for her, with some occupying her longer than others. If the toy had a lot of parts or pieces, it seemed she had the most fun getting it all out and spreading everything across the floor before moving on to her next activity.

One of those activities was hide and seek, which she entered into with great glee, racing down the hall to hide behind a door or under the blankets on her bed. Of course, I didn’t need to hunt to find her because her giggles gave her away.

We spent some of the day reading before rest hour, after she tucked her super hero dolls into bed in the lovely toy baby bassinet I had for her. Regardless of the age of the child or the grandparent, I doubt there is anything more delicious than having a sweet, calm young child cuddled up beside you, engrossed in the pictures and story in the book no matter how many times she’s heard it.

I was just a little tired when Charlie left that evening, happy for the day yet glad for the breather. Like I said, I understand why God arranged that it would be young women bearing children.