Love my grandson, need advice

[wdfifteen]

Sometimes they can challenge your patience. I was doing some work on the drywall behind my bathroom counter, sanding some repairs with a screen sander. I went to the basement to get some primer and when I came back, he was using the screen sander to "help" sand my granite counter top. I've heard you can polish this kind of thing out, but I have no idea how to go about it. Anyone have any experience with this?

On another grandson-related issue - their father is an idiot. He apparently went sky diving last Friday and he called them Thursday night to say he loved them, "In case something happened." I swear you ought to have to pass a test before you can be a parent. There are some real dumbazzes out there, and their dad the king of them.

[RWebb]

call the people who made or installed the countertop - pretty sure it can be done

you have to keep a constant watch on small children -- but you already knew that from reading PARF

[Bill Douglas]

Ask the little guy to sander the rest of the counter top and if anyone asks you just say it's meant to be like that

[MBAtarga]

I'd imagine the proper means of repair is to continue "sanding" with increasing grit until you are polishing the counter - 120, 180, 220, 320, 400, 600, 800, 1200, 1600, etc. Each increase in grit removes the scratches caused by the previous.

[dipso]

I doubt he scratched the granite. He most likely just scratched up the sealer.
Apply more sealer/polish and see if it goes away.
If that doesn't work, just wet sand it out with some 1200 or some other fine sandpaper, then apply polish/ sealer.

It happens to our Marble countertops all the time, from lemon juice. I wet sand the etched spots and reseal.

Look online, you'll find answers. Probably a few short vids.

I

[Joe Bob]

Hang em by his balls.....

[Rusty914s]

Professionals generally use diamond disks which you can buy. Cheaper to simply hire a professional.

[stomachmonkey]

One Christmas my brother and I, we were maybe 5 and 7 at the time, received a toy toolbox. Back then a toy toolbox was real tools, just kid sized.

My brother and I quickly went through all the pieces of wood and went looking for more "construction" projects.

My grandmother walked in on us in the middle of chopping to pieces her brand new kitchen table.

She flipped out on my grandfather who had been "supervising".

His response was, relax, they are having fun, I'll buy you a new table tomorrow.

Few years back when my son was around 7 he was outside helping me wash the cars.

My interest was piqued when he called to me from the back of the car, hose in hand, "I'm washing the muffler".

Let's just say exhaust systems hold more water than one would think.

It happens, you may be mildly irritated right now but here's wishing that you will retell this story fondly for years to come.

[billybek]

One day you will look back on this and laugh.





Maybe not...

[Tilikum Turbo]

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

Sometimes they can challenge your patience. I was doing some work on the drywall behind my bathroom counter, sanding some repairs with a screen sander. I went to the basement to get some primer and when I came back, he was using the screen sander to "help" sand my granite counter top. I've heard you can polish this kind of thing out, but I have no idea how to go about it. Anyone have any experience with this?

On another grandson-related issue - their father is an idiot. He apparently went sky diving last Friday and he called them Thursday night to say he loved them, "In case something happened." I swear you ought to have to pass a test before you can be a parent. There are some real dumbazzes out there, and their dad the king of them.

You have to ask yourself...at what point in the relationship did things go South, or is everything he does bother you now, and regardless of what he does...is it ALL wrong now?

Calling your child up in what I would believe any instance to tell them you love them...that's a good Dad. If the woman he is married to is content with him, than that's all that matters.

[Bugsinrugs]

Go to a tile supply house and tell them what happened. They can set you up with cheap disks but you will need a grinder. I have polished and bull nosed my own granite counter tops. No big deal.

[andyt11]

Originally Posted by Tilikum Turbo

You have to ask yourself...at what point in the relationship did things go South, or is everything he does bother you now, and regardless of what he does...is it ALL wrong now?

Calling your child up in what I would believe any instance to tell them you love them...that's a good Dad. If the woman he is married to is content with him, than that's all that matters.

Yeah, I'm not quite following the unhappiness about the phone call to say 'I love you'. It seems like a logical thing to do before any flight, especially if you are planning to do something like jump out of the plane. I mean, I might do that if I were going to a track day, or even a long road trip, or partaking in something particularly dangerous at work. Is there more to the story that just the phone call?

[matt f]

If you have to call your children before any optional event, perhaps you shouldn't do it.

[Mark Howard]

One of my favorite stories...many years ago, when my now 18 year old daughter was about 4, mom dropped her off at my office while she had some errands to run. Wanting my daughter to entertain herself while I worked, I gave her some copy paper and pencils to do some drawing. I was working, going about my business around the small office of 10 employees, only to return to find her, with a black Marks-a-Lot permanent marker out of my desk drawer, drawing on the copy paper, and it bleeding through on the center of my brand new mahogany desk! I was livid to say the least...fussed at her...she cried..told mom i was mean...yada yada. Tried to clean it off my desk...no dice. I've had too look at the black marks for now 14 plus years....and I cherish those black marks much more than that desk....

[billybek]

Perfect post, Mark.

My brothers boy had taken his dads cordless drill and ran it through the drywall in several places just after my brother had finished a basement renovation.
I really think that he was trying to help.

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by andyt11

Yeah, I'm not quite following the unhappiness about the phone call to say 'I love you'. It seems like a logical thing to do before any flight, especially if you are planning to do something like jump out of the plane. I mean, I might do that if I were going to a track day, or even a long road trip, or partaking in something particularly dangerous at work. Is there more to the story that just the phone call?

The whole point of this phone call was to tell his sons that he was going to do something dangerous and he might not be back. He was playing the brave hero at the expense of his son's sense of security. My dad was a volunteer fireman. It's a dangerous job. When he got a call he never called me over to say "I wanted to say I love you in case something happens." He wasn't the greatest dad, but he did understand that his job was not to go out of his way to scare the crap out of me. When he had to go out, the hugged me and told me, "Don't worry, I'll be back soon."
There is a world of difference between telling a 7 year old, "I wanted to tell you I love you in case something happens." and "Don't worry, I'll be back soon."
A father has a lot of jobs. One of them is to make his children feel safe and secure. This jackass has no concept of how to do that.

[look 171]

Cal in the pros. Its cheaper and they can take care of it.

I put in a custom (American Cherry) kitchen for my parents about 12 years ago. My mom take cares of it better then she takes care of me. One of the reason for the whole house renovation was that we can have a small weeding in their back yard / house. The other reason was that I needed it for the past 20 years. Then comes their first grand kid, out son. My folks are on the ball with me and my sister and they did not let one thing go. This little boy of ours could not do "no" wrong. My father was trying to darken something on the kitchen table, so hat little siht took a Marks-a-lot black marker and decided to darken her Cherry cabinet doors. Not one, but about 5 doors. All they said was , oh no don't do that. That's not a place for drawing. Guess who got to fix it? I am sure he was trying to help, yeah, lighten my check book.

[andyt11]

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

The whole point of this phone call was to tell his sons that he was going to do something dangerous and he might not be back. He was playing the brave hero at the expense of his son's sense of security. My dad was a volunteer fireman. It's a dangerous job. When he got a call he never called me over to say "I wanted to say I love you in case something happens." He wasn't the greatest dad, but he did understand that his job was not to go out of his way to scare the crap out of me. When he had to go out, the hugged me and told me, "Don't worry, I'll be back soon."
There is a world of difference between telling a 7 year old, "I wanted to tell you I love you in case something happens." and "Don't worry, I'll be back soon."
A father has a lot of jobs. One of them is to make his children feel safe and secure. This jackass has no concept of how to do that.

Understood. I see what you are getting at now.

[Arizona 911]

My daughter took a marker and was drawing on the outside wall of our house when she was 2 years old. At the time I was pretty mad about it. My daughter is now 11 years old and the marks she made are still on the wall. When I look at them now, I wish she was 2 again.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

The whole point of this phone call was to tell his sons that he was going to do something dangerous and he might not be back. He was playing the brave hero at the expense of his son's sense of security. My dad was a volunteer fireman. It's a dangerous job. When he got a call he never called me over to say "I wanted to say I love you in case something happens." He wasn't the greatest dad, but he did understand that his job was not to go out of his way to scare the crap out of me. When he had to go out, the hugged me and told me, "Don't worry, I'll be back soon."
There is a world of difference between telling a 7 year old, "I wanted to tell you I love you in case something happens." and "Don't worry, I'll be back soon."
A father has a lot of jobs. One of them is to make his children feel safe and secure. This jackass has no concept of how to do that.

Agreed. You shouldn't push your fear off on your kids. "Everything is going to be ok" should be the order of the day, even if you aren't sure you believe it. My MIL does this BS too, calls and unloads her worries and concerns on her kids because she's not mature or adult enough to handle it. When something bad actually happens she falls apart into a hysterical crying mess. Hard to respect someone like that......

BTW, he was definitely trying to help. My 3 year old does this stuff all the time. I'll find wrenches shoved into mufflers, allen wrenches shoved into wheel hubs, screws hammered into 2x4s, etc. He loves to get tools and "help" his dad. I just drink another beer and try to keep him from destroying anything of value.