Another work week is coming to an end for most of us. I can hear the sighs of relief. Most of my weekends there is a visitor at my home. My granddaughter will arrive sometime in the morning. I never get tired of seeing her. Many of you who read my daily thoughts have been hearing about my granddaughter since the day she was born. When people see me on the elevator they often ask how she is doing. Chloe will be 12 years old on her next birthday and is very much a “Tween”. Most of her life she has loved to come to my home to be with me. Now I think the primary reason is the free Wi-Fi. When she is not on her smart phone, she is on my computer or playing a video game. Gone are the days when we sat on the floor having tea parties with a variety of stuffed animals and my Jerry Garcia doll. As much as I love the person she is now, sometimes I miss the tea parties and my five year old granddaughter. Chloe is very artistic so there are art supplies in every room of my house. She is also an introvert like me so these days we often spend time alone…together. I will read and she will draw. Periodically she will ask me what I think of whatever she had drawn. Maybe someday she will do the illustrations for my book if I even get that completed. When she was younger she would wake me up at the crack of dawn and want to play. These days she wants to stay up all night and sleep half the day. The good news is now Granny and I can sleep late too. At my age it can be exhausting to have a young person in the house. My granddaughter, however, is so full of life and energy and curiosity that it actually energizes me. She recently told me that I am too sensitive and that too many of our conversations contain life lessons. I told her that giving life lessons is what Paw Paw’s do. It is difficult to measure the joy that grandchildren can give you. I have gotten so much from one that I can’t imagine having five or six.
Today is my youngest son’s 34th birthday. My children are approaching middle age. How can that be???? An elderly friend once told me that you are not really old until your children are on Medicare. I guess this means my 86 year old mother will be “really old” in about one month. A few years ago when I told my granddaughter how old my mother was, she replied “Wow! She’s really good at living”!