October 21 - “Pumpkins jumping”

I went on a treasure walk the other day with Cailyn.  Among our finds were two sticks that rapidly became swords for Pirate Girl and … “Here, you can have one, too, DadDad.”  Guess I was responsible for my own character development.  I contributed two pigeon feathers to the trove.  Feathers are always a plus.  Only about seventeen thousand more and we can make a pigeon pillow.  She found “six acorns, ha ha.”  Not just acorns, mind you.  They were “acorns, ha ha.”  Hey, her words, not mine, so there must be something “haha” special about acorns.  Add one stickerbur to the list, lightly embedded in her finger.  Not enough to hurt, obviously, but enough to warrant nurturing for the trip inside.  Two of those big sycamore leaves made their way into our stash, one big one for her and a much smaller one for me.  I’m beginning to sense a pattern here.  But hey, my self-esteem is just fine.  We also stopped to talk to two of our neighbors.  The man didn’t hold her attention for very long – all he had going for him was Halloween decorations in his yard.  The lady, however, had a cat.  Two, actually.  And she let Cailyn feed them some treats.  Ah, the way to a little girl’s heart is through a cat’s stomach.  At one point Cailyn even followed one of the cats inside the lady’s house.  The cat had a contingency plan for escaping young children, however, so Cailyn rejoined us on the porch when it became evident that her search would prove unfruitful. 

Later that day, at rest time, we reviewed our treasure walk experience to see what educational value had accrued.  What she remembered, however, was somewhat different from the events I have just described.  Most notable among her reminisces was the “pumpkins jumping around that was just sooo funny.”  I must have missed that one.  And “When you jumped up and down, up and down, DadDad.  That was sooo funny, too.”  I know I missed that one. 

Psalms 34:12-14 says, “Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days, keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies.  Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.”

Father, may you grant all of our grandkids many good days.  Give their parents the wisdom – and the energy - to model the lifestyle that will guide them in that direction.  Amen.