THE CIRCLE OF LIFE

Monroe and I went shopping for a new dress the other day.

She is one little girl who can "work it"

The Grands are getting older now and yet they still run out the front door to greet us when we arrive. It's so sweet because they see us almost everyday but each time they greet us it's with open arms and BIG smiles on their faces. When it's time to say good-bye someone almost always ask if they can spend the night with us. It's so sweet. Bruce and I cherish this time when they are young and sweet and full of love for their family.

Last week I got out some old videos and we were watching a video of Nathan (our 25 year-old son)  when he was in Kindergarten and his class went to a Nursing Home for a visit. Nathan was so sweet. It was fun to hear his little boy voice as he cautiously walked around the room looking for someone to give his handmade card to. He smiled and said hello as he passed the old hunched over men and women looking for someone who would return his smile. He stopped to pick up something that had fallen at the feet of an old woman and gently handed it to her with a smile on his face. Soon Nathan and his little friends were gathered in a little circle munching on cookies and milk discussing the responses they had received as they handed their cards out. Nathan was happy. He giggled and smiled as his friends shared their experiences.

This past year our Grandson Wyatt started Kindergarten. He is going to the same school his mother and Nathan went to. I occasionally go and work in HIS classroom. As I sit and watch Wyatt in Circle time I reflect on the days that I joined my children in their classrooms and

 I am amazed at how quickly life passed. When your a young parent life can be difficult and sometimes mundane. You feel as if all you ever do is prepare meals, wash dishes, clean sticky hands, pick up toys, and do endless piles of laundry. The days blend into weeks, and weeks into months and it seems you are celebrating another birthday. Now we are Grandparents and our perspective has changed.

WE KNOW that this won't last forever.

The laundry, the dirty dishes, the bruised knees, the battles with homework, the bedtime nightmares, the endless piles of laundry.

WILL ONE DAY END

and all that will be left are the cherished memories of your

precious babies, the way they smelled in your arms,

how their little hands felt in yours,

how their giggles made you smile,

that sweet little smile that greeted you when you walked into

their room in the morning,

or the butterfly kisses at bedtime,

the squeals of laughter that filled the air when they played with daddy

ONE DAY YOU'LL COME HOME AND THE HOUSE WILL BE EMPTY

AND THE QUIET IS DEAFENING.

AND YOU KNOW THAT YOUR LIFE WILL NEVER BE THE SAME AGAIN

AND THE EMPTINESS SEEMS ENDLESS AND YOU CAN'T IMAGINE ANOTHER LIFE

WITHOUT THEM FILLING THE SPACE

AND THEN

ONE DAY YOU WAKE UP AND

LIFE HAS CHANGED

GOD BLESSES YOU WITH NEW LITTLE ONES TO ROCK TO SLEEP, AND TAKE FOR WALKS, AND LAUGH, AND RUN, AND PLAY WITH.

there are still dishes to wash, and laundry to do but this time it's different because

YOU KNOW