February 21 – “It’s a …”

I learned something about my beautiful bride and my gorgeous oldest granddaughter yesterday.  but first, a quick recap of the day.  Cailyn arrived sometime before six a.m. as Nathan was on his way to work.  We made our way up into Texas to take in Micah’s flag football game.  His team won.  He played like a champ … of course.  After the game Cailyn jumped in their car and went home with them to play with her cousins.  Chris and I headed over to Hobby Lobby for some kind of craft backing material.  We even managed to squeeze in a quick lunch at Spring Creek Barbeque.  That makes it count as a date, right?  The afternoon went by fairly uneventfully.  Bryan and Jennifer stopped by with their newly-groomed dog.  When they left the three of us played a modified game of croquet (Cailyn’s rules).  I always love playing modified rules games with the kids.  Never know what they will come up with next.  Later on Cailyn built a tent in the den.  Oh, and that was after she and Nani had sewn a dress for her new doll. 

Phew.  Sounds like a full day now that I look at it in retrospect.  But I haven’t even listed the high point yet.  That came when we arrived home from the football game.  Chris pulled into the driveway and opened her car door.  And she stopped dead.  As calmly as she could muster, she told Cailyn to stay put in the car for just a minute.  Now she had my attention.  She was obviously looking at something, so I jumped out of the car and hustled to her side.  And there on the ground was a small, long, skinny, wiry-looking creature, the likes of which we honestly have never seen since we have lived here.  What was this monster that had so terrified my wife that she went to such lengths to protect Cailyn?  Yep.  It was a little bitty grass snake, lying in the sun doing its best to molt out of its winter skin. 

Of course by this time Cailyn’s curiosity had gotten the best of her.  She laid eyes on the critter and absolutely and unequivocally refused to move.  Chris wasn’t even sure it was alive, so I obliged the situation as any red-blooded American boy would have.  I gave it a little nudge.  It was alive.  As it slithered a few inches, Cailyn squealed.  Chris jumped.  I asked them, if they wanted me to pick it up so they could see it better, but apparently that was not the suggestion they had in mind.  Since Cailyn was unconditional in her determination to stay put as long as the creature was visible, I gave it a little more prodding and it finally slithered off into the grass, no doubt frustrated at our interruption of its spa day.  I tried to find him later on when Bryan and Jennifer left.  Jennifer was really wanting to snuggle with him (NOT).  But he was long gone, no doubt searching for a new sunbathing option to his spa package.

So that’s what I learned.  My girls are less than enamored with those slithery creatures called snakes.  Sigh.  I suppose it adds to their feminine charm. 

1 John 5:12 says, “He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.”

Father, thank you for my girls.  Chris and Cailyn and Noa and Christina and Christi and April.  They have certainly changed the lives of us Vaughan boys.  Amen.