Grandchildren

My daughter in Sacramento, (California, USA for my far flung foreign followers) has four off the wall nuclear powered dynamos of the male persuasion who define the term intensity. They range from 7 to 2 years old, with a set of twins lodged somewhere in the middle. When they take the time to drop below the sound barrier, I get a video call from one or more of them, missing their papa and wondering when I am coming to visit. More often than not, these calls come at bed time.  It’s hard to go from 0 to 600 miles per hour in the length of a twin bed, though for them, not for lack of effort and I have the tiniest of suspicions that these calls are a subtle attempt to delay bringing it all in for a landing.

I visit my children and grandchildren as often as practical, and with airline rates today, it’s far cheaper for me to fly. My daughter brought these four little dynamos to the airport, with strict instructions to stay in the car when they picked me up at the terminal as there were lots of cars around and it would be dangerous. It must have been all the years of supersonic wind blowing past their ears because in spite of her caution, the moment the car stopped, and perhaps a few fractions of second before that, two doors blasted open and the twins broke the sound barrier (again) before latching on to my airline damaged knee caps. Popping open the rear hatch was a sign for the two in the back to vault over the seat in stunning Olympic fashion to complete the tackle. Sorry Super Bowl fans, no instant replay.

I adore these amazing progeny, their love is as intense as the velocity of their lives. I could go on with a lecture on how important it is for us grandparents to assist in molding and directing their lives, but if you have read this far, I think you get that. Besides, I covered that topic in one of my essays. To me, it is just as important to simply love them. Make them a part of our lives. They should feel comfortable around us, comfortable with us, and comfortable following us from project to project as we move through the day. St Francis of Assisi is attributed the quote “Preach the Gospel at all times, and if necessary, use words.” Love your children and grandchildren, teach them to live, love and worship Him, and use words only when necessary.