For My Mom

My Mom always used to say, when we'd done something particularly sweet or nice or whatever, "Oh, bless your heart!" Well, my Mom blessed my heart. Continually. Probably just about every day. And I've never done a very good job at thanking her. AND not only did she do this for each of her five children, she does it for her fifteen grandchildren AND her five great-grandchildren. My daughter is always kidding about Grandma saying to her, "Oh Cherlynnie, bless your heart!" So this is for you, Mom. Because you blessed my heart . . . and my soul . . . and you continue to do it every day. Thank you.

Seasons of Parenting

I am an incredibly fortunate person. Here I am in the season of life where I figured I would be just puttering around the house doing my own little projects, taking some art classes, working in the garden, etc. and, instead of all of that, I am blessed with the opportunity to be a day to day, major influence in a little person's life. I have the incredible opportunity to help this little one grow into a thinking, feeling, acting blessing in other peoples' lives. I thought that my major influence on a child ended when my kids were old enough to start thinking on their own. Who knew I would be blessed with being able to share even more with someone else. I think one of the greatest things about this is the fact that I feel much more prepared and equipped to "parent" a child (even though I am NOT the child's parent) than I did in my younger years. I have more patience and I have the wonderful gift of hindsight, which is enabling me to skip over those negative qualities I inflicted on my own kids. Not only do I get the opportunity to help this child, she, in turn, is giving me the gift of youth, something I wouldn't normally have at this season in life. How can anyone be old and stodgy with a 2 year old running around. With a 2 year old you can crawl around on the floor and be silly and giggle. I get to color with crayons, finger paint, make handprints in plaster of paris, build things with legos, and crawl into a "house" made from a washing machine box. I get to chase her around on my hands and knees and make her laugh and scream with delight. In the meantime, she's making ME laugh and scream with delight. People tell me what a wonderful thing it is I'm/we're doing. I ask them, "What else would I do?" I am truly blessed.

Breezes and Fleeting Thoughts

I've come to the conclusion that I have a lot to say, yet when I have the opportunity to really think about, and put into words, what I want to say, those thoughts fade away like breezes in a garden on a summer's day. This is probably because the majority of my time is spent with my almost-2 year old granddaughter, Emma. If you have any idea what it's like to spend the majority of your time with a 2 year old, then you will know how it is that your time isn't really your own. And since she is once again clamoring to sit on my lap, demanding my attention, I must once again pause . . . maybe I'll have time later.