Saturday January 7 2017  A WONDERFUL DAY

WHAT IS IT THAT MAKES A WONDERFUL DAY?

Kathleen Martens

January 7, 2017

http://www.visionsofpoetry.com

What is it that makes a wonderful day?

A question I ask as I go on my way.

Is it my work or is it my play?

Just exactly what should I say?

It comes from satisfaction I feel in my heart

When evening arrives and the day departs.

I look back from morning’s start

And ask, have I made memories that will not part?

And so today has been a wonderful day. 

With hours of work and hours of play.

My one wish is that time would stay

And my hours and years would not rush away.

As a child I did not have grandparents that lived close by.  Even if I had lived close to them I don’t really believe they ever knew how to be the proverbial grandparent.  After birthing thirteen children (one every other year for 25 years) and then having grandchildren that were actually older than their youngest children, my grandparents seemed old, spent, and had so much work to do to keep life and limb together that they had no time or energy (nor finances) for the “niceties” of grand parenting dozens of grandchildren. Did they love us?  Yes, I believe they did.  I know they prayed for each of us because I heard their prayers at night when I stayed with them as a teenager.  They spoke each name of their children and grandchildren aloud in their nightly prayers.  If one forgot a name the other remembered.  I had lots of cousins!  It was always a long prayer.

I’ll never forget those nights as I slept on a couch in the living room of the little farmhouse.  The house had a pass through area from the front to the back of the house that had been enclosed and converted into a dining room.  On one side of the enclosed breezeway there were two small bedrooms and on the opposite side was a small kitchen and a living room.  There was no indoor plumbing until the early nineteen sixties.  The bathroom took up part of one bedroom.  Grandma slept on an old iron bed in the living room and grandpa slept on an iron bed in the front bedroom across the breezeway.  They always prayed aloud after they climbed into their respective beds.  It is a memory I love to think about. 

Did I have a close relationship with my grandma?  Probably not in the sense of a grandparent/grandchild relationship.  However I loved my grandma intensely and at the same time I was fearful of my grandpa.  I had overheard too many conversations about how mean he had been to his children and I assumed he would be mean to me.  By the time I knew him he was already an old man and perhaps some of his vinegar had drained out of him.  He never hurt me but I was always a bit leery of him.

When our first grandson was born nine years ago we really didn’t know how to grandparent.  I tried to stay out of our children’s lives and thus didn’t see the baby much.  After a couple of years our son and daughter-in-law asked us if we planned to grandparent our grandson?  They informed us that if not they would find surrogate grandparents to take our place.  Oh man, that hit to the core of our hearts.  But it opened our eyes.  Life was extremely busy for both of us during his earliest years.  I was under deadline pressures and Dave was under a lot of stress with his workload.  But let me tell you something, that comment from Amy and Court scared us because we really wanted to be close to our grandson.  Not having had any experience of our own with grandparents it was an awkward beginning. 

Well, today was one of those special days when we had the opportunity to take time out and be grandparents.  Xander, our second grandson was testing for a new karate belt.  We aren’t always able to attend every event but it always feels special to be asked to come and watch.  I still try not to barge in on their limited family time, but to be truthful, there is nothing else we’d rather do than to be with our grandsons.  I am just now beginning to feel the freedom of being retired and Dave and I so look forward to more adventures with them.  AND IT MADE FOR A WONDERFUL DAY!  We also enjoy being with our grown children.

Perhaps these memories will not linger with the boys because they are so young, and perhaps not linger with us because we are so old, but you know what, it is living in the moment that is so enjoyable.  And as I walk away from all the special moments I tuck the memories in my heart to cherish as long as my brain will allow me to remember.  I cherish every kiss, every hug, every squabble and every picture I take.  My heart smiles inside when I am with them.  I so enjoyed raising our two children, but there is just something extra special about having grandchildren.  It is something our children won’t understand until they experience it for themselves!

At this stage of my life there is nothing I’d like to do better than to be the most loving and “bestest gramma” in the world to the two “bestest” grandsons one could ever imagine.

God thank You for blessing us with two wonderful grandsons.

Thank You that their parents are raising them with You as their foundation.

Thank You Lord for every moment we share with them.

Thank You too Lord for your protection over our children and grand children.

Thank You for our daughter.

Thank You for our son-in-law.

Thank You for our son.

Thank You for our daughter-in-law.

Thank You for our grandson Zachariah.

Thank You for our grandson Alexander.

Thank You too for our grand-dogs Cole and Jackson.

AND GOD, SPECIAL THANKS FOR MY SISTER VELMA!

GOOD NIGHT AND GOD BLESS YOU!

P.S.  Xander passed the karate test and received his new white belt with an orange stripe.