The Perfect Day

It is so easy to get caught up in the urgent daily struggles and stresses, obsessing and complaining and worrying about each one. It is less easy to remember to 'stop and smell the chrysanthemums.'(OK, the original is roses but that is so lame and common and it is Fall after all). I am as guilty as the next and am feeling the need to remedy that situation here and now. Today is sunny, in the low 70*'s and beautiful, especially after worshipping God at church this morning and remembering His grace in my life. But that is not the perfect day of which I speak.

Yesterday was the Perfect day.
I had a good night's sleep and that began the morning well, and when I poured my first freshly brewed cup of Brasilian coffee with International Creamer making it taste more like dessert than coffee, I was as content as my cat sleeping in the sun.

Grandson Ethan arrived for the day with a smile and a jump. He always gives a little jump when he arrives, then makes a beeline for the dog.


Then he and I played a bit and headed to Aunt Margie's house where 2 champion soccer players and games were scheduled at noon. Ethan was beside himself with anticipation so I just moved the time forward and off we went!

Soccer is in my blood and the thought of watching a game with my son-in-law coaching and grandsons playing is always cause for joy. When I arrived at their home there were 3 bikers in the driveway, a granddaughter moving her way next to my car door and another little girl bouncing out the door. The "Hi Grammy"'s were quickly followed by the 'watch me Grammy's' and I eagerly obliged. We had a couple of wipe-outs, a game playing request, a pair of arms yanking at my pant leg and a little boy in the car grinning from ear to ear. Six little wonders within 3 feet of me, do you feel the warmth and love??

Off to the Games!


Watching Eliot(the 7 year old) and Jesse(the 5 year old)play soccer, while babysitting Ethan (the 2 1/2 yr old) and still paying attention to Simon (the 6 yr old) and Nora(the 3 yr old) and Bianca (the cuddly 2 yr old) is a challenge for the best Grammy in town , but this Grammy is also passionate about photography, so my hands were quite full. Literally.









But I managed, happily and have about 50 pictures to prove it.

After the rousingly exciting games Ethan and I packed up and headed North to visit the cousins in Boyertown. We had a nice ride and other than the annoying road construction which has the potential to take away from the nice part, the trip went smoothly.

On the schedule for the Boyertown visit was Aidan's first haircut and at almost 2 years of age, this was a highly anticipated photo op for Grammy and emotional melt-down day for Mom. I had my haircut first and mom explained to Aidan that he needed to sit still and take off his glasses and be a quiet boy , see Grammy? We took a before picture(of course).



As Aidan climbed into his chair he reached up and removed his glasses...oh my, my heart melted.



Mommy let out a scream after the first cut, but other than that momentary distraction,Aidan and Grammy love our new haircuts !!







The day was almost over and still to come was a visit from two of our close friends , Muoy and Ron, who brought dinner! As Muoy and Becca made jasmine rice, pork chops and green beans with apple dumplings, I was outside watching the 2 year olds play. Such a normal activity, and yet I was focused on enjoying the moments individually and refusing to not savor every event. Aidan and Ethan decided to pick the green tomatoes, and after mom told them not to , I noticed a lingering in the garden area, so I investigated. There, on the ground under his boot, Aidan had 'hidden' the tiny tomato so as to make sure mommy didn't see it!






Dinner came after a long day of fun and I was so thankful to be sitting among these gifts of mine.



It is oftentimes easy to complain about my Isabel and Ava living so far away , it is easy to fuss about the hot or cold weather not being just right. It is often my voice heard among the gripers who moan and groan about aches and pains. I am too often found wondering what life would be like if my husband were still here, if the sons still living at home were on their own, if the cat disappeared or the dog ran away!! Why? Why am I unable to JUST BE? Just BE THANKFUL?! Just BE CONTENT?!

I memorized a portion of God's Word in the book of Psalms when I was younger and as I was writing this Blog it kind of jumped out of my normally jumbled mind. Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.

My Perfect Day. It was like any other Autumn Saturday in many ways, but in the most important way it was different. The difference was in how I appreciated it and how I mentally noted the Goodness of the Lord in every single moment.

I think I will have alot more Perfect Days..it isn't that hard.
Thanks for Lunch Carolyn! You gave me a head start on today!!

Diversity and Tolerance

The last few days have been causing me to challenge some of the current politically correct decisions of the day. I have spouted off at work and realized nobody even dares comment on something if it is a topic of a religious nature. It seems politics is fair game, but religion is still off the chart.

So what else is a Blog for? along with freedom of speech and growth in grace, I am covered adequately and will sound off.

Rosh Hashannah, the immediate reason for my Blogging, is being celebrated by the Jewish Community , one of their 2 more Holy holidays. I am told that Yom Kippur is holier, and that is next Thursday. I have co-workers and know of people who will miss work and school and not even be questioned because of this stated holiday. The last 2 days my co-worker has fled the scene of work and all because of the holidays. Now she also celebrated early this last weekend with friends because they traveled better then, but she still wanted off on the holiday. Also, to add to the wonder of it all, she is not a practicing Jewish person as she has told me it is too expensive to be part of a Synagogue.

Further, this is the second person who has told me they do not participate in the Synagogue because of expense! I was shocked and saddened that God cannot be worshipped by them corporately because of the dollar.

My surprise was made more profound as I saw that not only was all homework cancelled in the school I work in for 2 days because of these holidays, but also the news media announced that Congress would be 'closed until Thursday ' because of the Jewish Holidays!! Now our country is in a financial crisis, according to all of the people in the know, and yet Rosh Hashannah has shut down Congress! I mentioned that perhaps God was OK with Congress fixing the mess of our country this week, and was looked at as if I had threatened the Pope. Oh my, I am just wondering what is going on here.

When I was growing up, many , many years ago, the celebrations of religions other than Christianity was barely mentioned publicly. I am not saying whether this is right or wrong, as that would be yet another Blog. What i am saying is that now it is not only mentioned but flaunted in front of us as if to ignore it was blasphemous.

I am all for diversity and tolerance. I love the dialogue that ensues when someone discovers a truth that they had never experienced , as when I read that on Rosh Hashannah you eat a round Challah Bread to signify the New Year being full of new seasons and ever circling round. I rarely meet people I do NOT like, no matter their race or religions. I think it is healthy and wonderful to teach our families of other religions and ideas. What I find uncomfortable and unfair is that the Jewish Holidays, or any others for that matter, are held HIGHER than the others. Everyone in the USA gets off for Thanksgiving, a traditionally Christian observance of Thankfulness to God . Can't I, a practicing believer in Jesus Christ, otherwise known as a Christian, celebrate and get off work early because of something on my calendar?

My daughter suggested this morning that when we go to our cabin and write Christmas
cards this fall, we call it a Holy Holiday and skip out of work early because it can be called Holy. Let me see if I can convince Congress to shut down then....there isn't much reason for them to be open in November anyway.


I'm just thinking out loud.

I'm Smiling

This morning I woke up and the sun was about to shine , which is a good thing since Saturday was enough rain to last the week! Remnants of Hurricane Hanna left us appreciating the sunshine a bit more than usual.I am not smiling about the hurricane.

However, the reason I am smiling is because I am so well loved by my grandchildren and that is enough to counter any dreary Monday on the calendar! Yesterday was Grandparents Day and I had 8/10ths of my grandchildren celebrating me and gifting me with their love.




Margie called on Saturday night and asked me to come for lunch after church. I agreed since her lunches are always delicious and her kids are wonderful huggers! I take care of grandson Ethan on Sundays so he would be there too. To my happy surprise during the appetizer course between Eliot jumping from the tree, Simon looking for his daddy to play baseball and Jesse wondering if I brought his birthday gift or was this just Grammy stuff? I was given lovely cards, handmade and 'presented'. Presented is different than given because it entails an order of whose goes first, whose is accepted with more enthusiasm and whose is last place(always an indicator of BEST in the heart of the giver).


Then a surprise arrival-the Lacock family drove in, and down the hill came a baby girl carrying a card and a baby boy carrying a plant bigger than he was. What fun!!



Dinner was a tasty pasta dish with salad and white wine and bread, dessert a tasty cheesecake. But the food paled in comparison to the squeals and fights over who was sitting on my lap next or who had to have Grammy change them and nobody else.





In the afternoon hours, as the sun began setting , we were treated to a skateboard show, one of many to come I am sure. Amazing how such a small thing as watching a child and clapping at their performances can cause such joy and be reason for affirmation and feeling loved.



Well, it is now later in the day on Monday and the feeling of being loved by my sweet babies is still with me. There was chaos and frustration at work as usual, kids who were cute and dear, parents who said they appreciate me, friends who make the day sail by and people who I wish could be friends but never will be. But there is and never will be the feeling I had on just one single Sunday afternoon sitting in a grassy backyard filled with laughter and little bodies running around.

When things get really crazy, I bring to the front of my mind a little smiling face , a dirty mouth that puckers up when asked for a kiss, or tiny little arms that squeeze real tight. I think about the hugs I get , the smiles that sneak out underneath grumpy faces, the knowledge that pretty much above all else my dusty house is preferred over anybody else's for a visit.



What I don't understand and never will is why don't more people have more babies? I'm not talking about infertility problems, to those heartaches I lend my tears. I am talking about people who choose to have only one or two, who think having 2 cars that never break down is preferable to babies who keep you up all night, never leave home and cause you total and complete frustration as they age.



Do you think we Grandparents should speak more loudly about this gift? Should we ask our kids to PLEASE take back all of those trinkets and gift cards and knick- knacks and packages wrapped with such tender love and beauty?? Should we tell them we will cancel ALL gifts forever and ever in exchange for just ONE MORE GRANDCHILD??





I have 7 children. I have 4 more married into my family children. I have one who can't make up his mind. I have 10 grandchildren. And I do not have enough. I am thankful, I am happy , I am well loved by all, but I will be happier with more. I know that when these babies grow up, as they grow, I will never have enough of these lazy Sunday afternoons, sitting in the grass, watching everyone play and receiving just ONE more hand made card.




I am still smiling.