Nothing Special. Just A Nice Day

The grandkids and I ran some errands, took  their uncle some food Saturday after he had a minor surgery on Friday and was told to stay home and relax.On our way back, eldest grannddaughter asked if we could find an empty parking lot for her to practice driving for a little while.  We checked out two, and one was barricaded. The second was full of cars. She was disappointed.

"Just think,Gramma." she said. "Next year you won't have to take me back and forth so much. You'll be free."

I laughed. Some of my best times are when we go back and forth to her ensemble practice,  tennis matches, go to functions at school together.  Somehow, kids  talk more in a car. At their house or even at mine, we are usually doing something else and there's not much conversation.

I like conversation, I am widely known for this trait.

Her little sister sighed. It will be so long before she's in high school and driving, she said. Four years. Well, yeah. It's about 1/4 of her lifetime away. For me, it's no time at all. About 1/20th of my life. Her life is ascending. Mine is more or less gibbous.

(We have a gibbous moon tonight. A fine sight. Nothing wrong with a beautiful, golden gibbous moon.)

I am enjoying these kids so much.  As I age, I enjoy children and teenagers more and more. They are so fresh, often so witty and funny. They can be kind and sweet.

We stopped at a favorite  Mexican restaurant for food, and the eldest ate an amazing amount.  She is  a lovely girl, so active her arms and legs are rock hard. I have noticed usually she is careful about what she packs for lunch--turkey on whole grain, bell pepper strips, maybe some trail mix and fruit.

This was a splurge day.  Nothing special.  Just a few happy hours with people I love.

It can get fancier, and does. It doesn't get better.

Laughter and fun with people we love is just the best.

Everytime.

Wealth of Family

This was a busy weekend for Matt G. and family. They closed on the house and moved. I took care of the kids parttime Friday and all day Saturday. I had a wonderful time. The girls had fun, too. We went for pizza, over to the park to play (I sat at a picnic table in the cool shade of the trees, while they played in the full sun on the playground. Temp in the 80s, unbelievable for July in Texas.)

We stopped for bottled water and went to the movies--their second time to see "Ratatouilie" and my first. Note to parents who haven't been yet--it's the best cartoon I've seen in several years, fun for adults AND kids, and the Pixar cartoon before the cartoon is not to be missed, I laughed out loud all the way through. Then I took the kids home, stopping off for fast food for all. Had them away for about 12 hours, and their parents had done miraculous things with the time.

The kids were happy and relaxed. So was I. And parents were exhausted but pleased with progress. I understand "Transformers" also will be a decent movie for them, but Saturday I wasn't sure. They are so much fun, these girls. They are smart, and sweet, and their parents have done a great job. I just enjoy all the time with them, as do their other grandparents. My own children had one grandparent who died early. These girls have five grandparents. An aunt and uncles. Cousins they see from time to time. Not unusual, but very different from my own experience.

A wealth of family really is wealth, a richness in family that has no substitute. Isn't it nice, when the next generation does so well? Oh, yeh, great earnings would also be nice for them. But I look at my sons, and I think, "I didn't screw up too bad." The universe is enriched by my progeny.

It really is.