The other day my two and a half year old grandson looked up at me and said, “Your shirt pretty, Nana.” That was the first compliment he has given me and will no doubt not be the last. It was so sweet coming from that special little guy.
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For the past two weeks I’ve been under the weather and it was all I could do just to get through the basics everyday. Right now one of those basics is babysitting my three grandchildren pretty much every day. There were days when I would go fill glasses of water, change diapers, break up fights, and lie down in between each episode. If it weren’t for my husband, life would have been pretty miserable. Since his work schedule is flexible, he stayed home and helped out as often as he could.
I’ve been a grandmother now for almost seven years and I currently have three precious little people who call me “Nana.” Although I have always known how important grandparents are in the life of their grandchildren, I didn’t realize just how much until recently.
With the recession going on and people losing their jobs left and right, it’s hard not to tie your identity to your position of employment. Men, in particular, identify strongly with what they do in life, their careers. When something happens and they lose or need to change their careers, they frequently have a melt down. They go through what is basically an identity crisis.
Last night on the Hallmark Movie Channel, I watched “The Locket,” a movie adaptation of the book by Richard Paul Evans. It tells the story of a young man who is going through a difficult time, especially in his love life. While working as a nurse’s aide in a retirement home, he befriends an older woman who lost her true love many years prior. She gives him guidance so that he won’t lose the love of his life. After some unexpected twists and turns, the story comes to a positive ending for the young man. Although some things in his life have changed, he still has the love of his girlfriend.
Yesterday was a sad day for one of my college friends. Her teenage son, who was recently injured in a car accident, passed away after being in the hospital for just over a month. Jared received extremely severe brain injuries as a result of the accident and had been in a coma the entire time. Although we were all hoping and praying that he would make a miraculous recovery, that did not happen. His condition was much worse than originally thought and when he was taken off life support, his body gave up the fight.
“We relish news of our heroes, forgetting that we are extraordinary to somebody too.”~Helen Hayes.
This quote really hits home for me. In all the hustle and bustle of life, I often feel like I’m unimportant and rather superfluous in the scheme of things. After all, I’m not on TV and people aren’t waiting with baited breath to hear my next comment.
I believe that children are a gift from God. Whether you have biological, adopted, or foster children, it doesn’t matter. Each one is a gift that you have been given and you never know for sure how long you will have that precious gift. You hope that your children will live long happy lives and be the ones burying you, but we all know that it doesn’t happen that way all the time.
Today I had the privilege of spending time with my three young grandchildren, all under the age of seven. Sometimes it’s great just to take the time to look at things from the perspective of a child.




