September 3 – “Grandparent World”

So then.  Yesterday was supposed to the Labor Day holiday, right?  And like on any true holiday you are supposed to rest from your work and recharge you energy.  I need to learn how to do that a little more effectively, I guess. 

Not that I went outside and worked myself to the bone so that I can’t function today.  In fact, I think I only went outside twice all day.  One of those was to pick up the newspaper.  The other was to say goodbye to Cailyn and her parents when they left.  I just had one of those days where I got started working at the computer and didn’t really stop until Stan and Sue walked through the front door.  They brought over a cake and some gumbo to add to our brisket for a birthday meal for Mom and me and Chris and anniversary meal for them.  We even got to sing Happy Birthday, Happy Anniversary like we do at church.  Except Cailyn insisted that she and I sing it a separate time for each person.  Rockin’ the music world with my granddaughter.  Watch out Bon Jovi and Burl Ives and all those other wild and crazy artists.  Here we come.

But back to our morning.  There was a time or two when Chris sat down in one of the rocking chairs and we talked for a while.  Those are really good times.  Doesn’t even really matter what we talk about.  Build shelves or buy ready-built ones.  Mom’s late-night escapades and adventures.  The latest interesting or funny or sad posts on FaceBook.  Logistics for a trip to help Josh and Christi get unpacked after they move to Waco.  Which days we get to take Cailyn to school and pick her up.  What we are going to have for lunch or dinner.  What funny things Cailyn has said or Caleb has done or how big Noa has gotten or virtually any other grandchild trivia.  What the conditions are for fishing.  What the conditions are for hurricane development in the Gulf of Mexico (Hey, we do live on a barrier island.  And it is September).  My aches and pains and rheumatiz.  What quilt to make next and what fabric to use that will perfectly fit the recipient.  What exciting development has occurred in the saga that is the life of our two “ministerial” sons.  What’s going on at the fire department.  Or in the ER over at UTMB.  Who has been coming to Seaside lately.  Taken individually, none of these are earth-shattering.  Put them all together and you have a picture of … Grandparent World … our world.  And we love it. 

Psalms 108:3 says, “I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples.”

Father, thank you for this world you have placed me in.  Amen.