Bees in My Bonnet

Most grandparents these days seem to have a philosophy of life that goes something like this: "It was hard work raising children.  Whew.  Glad that's over.  Now it's time for me to enjoy my life.  Do all those things I sacrificed because I was running after little ones.  Sure, I love my grandkids.  But I DO love to send them home.  My nerves get frayed after a while.  I need to take it easy.  I'll send them a gift on their birthday - I'll even babysit for a few hours here and there.  That's what it means to be a Grandma." Okay, that may have been a bit harsh.  I'm sure that's not most out there - just that I think those sentiments float around and then I tell my friends what my Mom does for me and my kids and I make everyone jealous. Here's an example - just one of many MANY that I could describe: Two weeks ago my parents flew from Hong Kong (at their own expense!) for a number of reasons which they needed to be Stateside for...

Here's what this evening looked like: We watched an episode of The Waltons - where Olivia feels her identity is lost in her roles as Wife and Mom.  She longs for the adventure and glamour of the Air Mail pilot whose plane landed in a nearby field.  I'm sure I can relate to her on this front - often I feel my days are filled with the mundane. Sam did magic tricks for the kids, and they kept pleading with him to do it again so they could figure out the trick. The kids played Apples to Apples with Sam. We discussed what Caleb wants for his birthday breakfast tomorrow.  The verdict: Cherry muffins. Andrew is so precocious and very cute these days.  His words are stilted and carefully pronounced.  Perhaps because of his language delays he has learned to speak in full, grammatically correct sentences - complete with appropriate expression. "I want to give you a hug Mommy!" "Will you read me another story Mommy?" He loves to be read to but more than...

When he says, 'Read me a story Mommy!' he's really saying, 'I want to spend time with you and feel your strong arm encircling me, cozy and tight.  I want to feel you near and rest my head on your chest like a pillow.' When she says, 'Will you just listen to me!'  she's really saying, 'Please, just let me share my thoughts with you.  Don't shut me out!  I need you to hear me.' When he says, 'I just want to be left alone,' he's really saying, 'I can't take any more of your negative words.  Please don't brow-beat me just now.  I'm tired of hearing all the things I do wrong.  Just give me a hug and let me know you love me.' When he says, 'Can I have a cookie?' he's really saying, 'Did you mean it when you said 'no cookies before supper'?  I wonder if I can get her to give in to me while she's on the phone!' When she says, 'Can we go to the pool tomorrow?' she's r...

I have always loved reading poetry.  But not all poetry.  It has to be readable, comprehendable and with words that are more or less in the common usage.  I can enjoy difficult-to-understand poetry when I am up for riddles and challenges.  But it is so pleasant to be able to read it and understand it the first time! I have always been a bit of a slacker (don't believe me? - ask my Mom!).  I think it is the achilles heel of my character.  I once wondered what the seven deadly sins were - and when I found they included slothfulness I was horrified.  Just glad not to be Catholic on that one.  But being Protestant is worse I suppose - because we consider all sin to be deadly. I realized my weakness of character even when I was younger - and not knowing exactly how best to improve myself (and in my ignorance that perhaps I could - forgetting it is really a work of God in me, with my willing effort aided by His enabling grace) - I was drawn to anyt...