It isn’t that I don’t want to be with old folks. After all, I am one. But kids are just more fun.

Recently, we and our kids and grandkids were invited to dinner at their neighbors. Tess, the neighbors' junior in high school daughter, was leaving for Costa Rica for three months and this was her goodbye dinner. Her sister Emily is a freshman in college. Since we have only boys--sons and grandsons--we love hanging out with Tess, Emily and their parents when we go to Maryland.

That evening their mother had to make a meal that fit the needs of her vegan husband, a vegetarian daughter, two gluten-free guests and our son Jeremy who during the month of January isn’t eating anything beginning with the letter “e”. (Don’t ask.)

Not that I am trying to brag, but when you hang out with kids, you learn some cool stuff.

Before dinner got going, we set up a group on WhatsApp to keep up with Tess in Costa Rica. Next, they helped me make a set of personalized emojis. For those as clueless as I was, those are avatars that you customize to look like yourself. You can choose from hundreds of possibilities to enhance whatever you are saying in a text or email.

Below is one of mine. Note the silver hair, brown eyes and striped T-shirt. A perfect likeness.

After a feast of a dinner that (miraculously) had something for everyone, the ten of us played a card game called "Pig". It is probably the silliest game I’ve ever played. We laughed all the way through it.

Nobody mentioned aches and pains.