Grandkids

I like to think and talk about our grandkids, just like all good grandparents do. Now our grandkids are no longer the little kind that snuggle up on your lap, or come around wanting you to play with them. Ours are the kind that get bigger than even their dad, who is already bigger than his dad. Ours have their own lives that they are pursuing with varied enthusiasm. Regardless of where each one is in life we follow their lives the best we can through conversations with their parents, their blogs, or sometimes by their direct communications. We are interested in what life is bringing them and what direction their lives are going. Ours range in ages from 14 to 27, I think.

Grandkids don't always acknowledge our interest in them, if they know of it, but we believe that they care about their grandparents. I respect their way of life even if it is much different than ours, including their interests, pursuits, activities, friends, etc. The one hard thing for me to deal with is the speed with which they talk. I told someone recently that the youth of this age speak fast and I listen slow. I don't know if that's a good explanation of what I feel or not, but you can get the point. I don't expect to be able to speed up my listening ear much anymore, so I do what I can to get what I can, knowing that quite a bit sometimes gets past me.

Our grandkids all make their parents proud. That's quite commendable. Some may have given their parents a hard time, but that seems to be par for the course. We didn't have too much of a problem with our kids during their teen years. Oh yes, we did have some problems to be sure, but for the most part we enjoyed the teen years of our kids, and I think that was, and is, the case for our kids.

We love our family, all the members. They all are special in their own right. We want to hear about their struggles as well as their successes. We are very pleased also to have three great grandsons, with another one on the way, set for delivery early next year. God has blessed us richly and we are very grateful.

And so I remain

Pilgrim on the way