Hope Ongoing
/These stories from a few years ago appear in my soon-to-be released book, Practicing Faith (The photo is a bit more recent.) As we spend this Thanksgiving with family I’m reminded how important they are, and how grateful I am that we are safe, together, and healthy.
One Saturday Cyndi and I rendezvoused with our daughter, Katie, in Abilene, halfway between our house in Midland and Katie’s house in Mansfield. Katie handed off her own two daughters, Madden (then age four) and Landry (age one), and what seemed to be three hundred pounds of baby gear. The girls were going to spend a week with their Gran and Pops.
I don’t need to go into detail how busy it was for us as we tried to remember how we used to take care of little kids, balancing our time with the girls and our full lives. We were much better thirty years ago; we seemed to have lost our edge, and a few strategic skills, since then.
However, it was great, and we finished the week looking forward to next summer’s visit.
Of course, since I went to my office to work during the day, Cyndi spent the most time with the girls. The only time I had them to myself was each evening while she taught yoga classes. Cyndi took them to play with Pattie’s two grandsons, to swimming lessons, to the Children’s Museum, to the water park in Andrews, and everywhere else. I’m sure she has more stories and insights than me (but she’ll have to write her own account to tell about all that).
Since we had the girls for only one week, we dedicated all our available time and energy to them. I didn’t do any of the things I normally did while Cyndi taught her evening classes. No running, biking, or going to the gym. I kept remembering the advice of Dr. Leo Cooney, founder and director of the Section of Geriatrics at the Yale School of Medicine: “If you have to decide between going to the gym or being with your grandchildren, I’d choose the grandchildren.”
Done. Thanks, Dr. Cooney.
So instead of all those workouts, it was conversations like these . . .
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“Look girls, Gran made us Neelix Rolls, a family favorite”
“Pops, can I have another cinnamon roll?”
“What would your mom say?”
“Well, what do you say?”
“Sure. Here you go.”
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“Pops, do you know how to skip?”
“Not anymore.”
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“Pops, can you read this book to me?” (It’s a copy of Confessions by St. Augustine)
“Come back in twenty years.”
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“Here is another sticker for your shirt, Pops. It’s a sparkle star.”
“Thanks. It looks great on my black polo.”
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“Hey, Pops, what does a monarch butterfly say?”
“African or European?”
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“Do you have Hello Kitty on your phone?”
“Not since Gran made me take it off. She said I was wasting too much time.”
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“Pops, will you fix my hair?” as we walk into church Sunday morning. I have already brushed it, foolishly thinking that will be enough. Later, when it becomes clear to her I have no idea how to fix her hair the way she imagines it: “Call Gran on your phone so she can come fix my hair.”
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“Cyndi, do you think it would be OK if I took the girls on a bike ride if they sit in the trailer?”
“No. Landry is only one year old. She’s too small; she’ll tumble over on her head.”
“Besides that part, would it be OK? What if I found a bike helmet?”
“No.”
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At Chic-fil-A : “Hey Madden, are you big enough to get me a refill?”
“Yes.”
“Do you know where to go?”
“To the counter.”
“Do you know what I want?”
“Diet Coke.”
“Good girl.”
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While sitting in my lap watching the Tour de France: “When will this race ever be done, Pops?”
“In three weeks.”
“That’s too long.”
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“Cyndi, how do you feel about putting a baby on the floor to finish off all the bits of carrots she threw down? Because Landry seems to enjoy her second helping.” (I didn’t set her on the floor for this specific reason. The girl just loves to be there. She found the food on her own and cleaned it up before I could get to it. Good girl.)
When I was young, I spent a significant part of each summer at my grandparents’ house. I remember my grandmother telling me, “You can’t catch a fish if they hear you talking.” Silly me, I thought she was giving me fishing advice. She just wanted me to be quiet for a bit. It makes more sense to me now that I’m a grandparent myself.
Here’s the thing. A huge spiritual root in my life grew from the time I spent with my grandparents. They invested their lives and faith in me, and I benefit from that still, fifty years later. That sort of impact is what I’m hoping for with the granddaughters in our house.
Babies are stuck with the family they fall into. It is up to us to rise to the occasion, just like my parents and grandparents did, and live lives of honor and grace and gratitude. Playing with Madden and Landry was another call to action for me. I’m hoping for lots more opportunities.
“I run in the path of Your commands, for You have set my heart free.” Psalm 119:32
