When my two boys were little, we frequented Lake Avenue Park in Huntington Beach. One particular afternoon when Steve had them both giggling and thoroughly enjoying themselves, an elderly man came up and approached us. He took just a moment and said with all sincerity(and maybe a little sadness in his eyes): “Treasure these moments, for they go by all too quickly Before you know, they will be all grown up”, and with that we watched him smile and travel on. It resonated with us both and many times when we have time for the pure abandonment of “play,” we reflect on that small incident.
Then recently I read something Andy wrote in a college paper. It was about trying so hard to be the perfect parent; Room mom, coach, scouts…all the roles we take on that we forget to just BE the parent. Be there, be in the moment. Just be the mom or dad!
Well all three of them grew up really fast, and I don’t know that I did a good enough job just being the parent, but God has tremendously blessed us with the chance of just BEing the grandparents of 4 beautiful kiddos. So we play a lot. Maybe a creaky grandma going down a slide might embarrass you, but Carson thinks it’s awesome.
And Steve plays tag until Carson falls on the ground with laughter (same with Abby and Daniel back at home).
And now our prayed over baby Soleil is here. Sorry, I’m not putting you back in your bed, you can just sleep on my chest, next to my heart because I’m BEing a grandmother!
Amen, beautifully said!
So true and well said.
The blessings we receive by being a grandparent are just
too numerous to mention. Now as we slow down and focus on just BEing we realize what life is really all about!