A weekend of many things

Yes, many things have happened during this three-day Memorial weekend but rest... nope, not so we noticed! Our children are out of town, together, for the first time in a very long time, and we are on grand-duty. It's been non-stop activity. Our grandchildren do not sit quietly and read books; they get on their bikes and ride over "jumps" that they've constructed in the driveway. They don't sit among a million pieces of legos and create machines; they build huge forts among the trees with branches, ropes, fern fronds for a roof, and chunks of firewood for seating - all of which last for days. They don't walk sedately through their backyard forest; they climb onto the trampoline and bounce up to the sky with flips and other gyrations. These kids have an energy level that is epic, like their dad's, and uncle's, and if I'm going to be honest, like their grandpa and grandma's.

Yeah, we are to blame. My husband and I are very high energy people. We went through all the psych testing before heading overseas and were told that we were - abnormal - with an energy level that was so high that we would be tempted to think others were lazy. We were counseled to realize that we are not normal and that those who seem to run out of steam while we're still going strong, those people are the normal ones. Maybe that's why at this age (pushing the sixth decade soon) he's just become a high school principal and I continue to teach junior high! We still have quite a bit of energy to burn. When two people like us, come together and create children, well, those kids are really high energy. Our sons make us look like we're standing still. The only salvation for our grandchildren is that our sons married very calm women. Sigh... thank heavens!

So three days with these children make for some incredible memories. Oh how I love my grandchildren. One of the lies I believed earlier in my life was that by serving overseas, I would rarely get to spend time with my family. We never imagined moving back to the states but here we are, only a 15-minute drive from our little ones. I thank God daily for this time. I love investing in these kids, letting them see sheer joy on my face when they bound into a room. Playing and praying with them, solving problems creatively, participating in special celebrations. What a blessing for us, and I would dare say, for them. They know that they are loved with a crazy, passionate, unconditional love. Hopefully our love will help them have a glimpse of God's love for them. At least they will never doubt that they are capable of being loved. And we realize that we are also blessed recipients of the holy, innocent, pure love of a child... of four, soon to be five grandchildren. What glory!