Ok, I hope I don’t offend a lot of grandparents, and great grandparents here, but let me be the one to say openly for all parents:

I’m sorry we have too much going on from school to practice to church to birthday parties to work, etc. and we can’t come over all the time. When we do get a break, sometimes we just want to clean the house and sit there for a little bit, but you’re more than welcome to come over. If you want to see this circus, come on over. We don’t travel.

Don’t get me wrong, I would love to bring the kids over to your house more often, but I just simply don’t have that much time. With the time I do have, I need it to spend catching up on things I need to do at the house. As much as you say, “just for a few minutes,” it seems you have forgotten when I was a kid. Nothing takes “just a few minutes.” Heck, it takes 15 minutes just to load up in the car and back out of the driveway. So, that times a 20-minute drive and a “quick” 30-minute visit adds up to a 1 hour and 40-minute trip if we don’t skip a beat.

It would be awesome if you could just come over to our house, and then we would all win. We could all visit, and you could see the kids, and I could get caught up. I also would not be on pins and needles, worrying that my kids are destroying your house and are going to break some something. You see, I have already moved anything of value in our home to higher ground or it has been broken and thrown out, so I have no fear of anything when they run crazy through the house.

Lastly, when you’re tired of the show, you can simply stand up, give out hugs and kisses, say goodbye, and you can leave. That way no one has to hunt for shoes and blankets and toys. This just works best for everyone, and I promise when these performers get bigger, and our lives slow down, I will bring them over as much as you want. But until then… if you want to see this circus, come over. We don’t travel. And, tickets are free admission.