On occasion, the prospect of a mega lottery win competes in the “greatest joy” category, but in the end our two grandchildren always emerge as the winner. Sawyer who is fifteen and Helen who is thirteen have truly blessed our lives with hundreds of hours of excitement, wonder and enjoyment. Any of you who also have grandkids will understand how much they can enrich your lives.
I recently constructed a collage of about fifty photos of Sawyer and Helen that spanned the past fifteen years. It is such a pleasure to witness, through the pictures, how they have grown and changed over the past decade. Each picture also transports me to a different time, event, and location where the photo was taken. It is kind of like watching a daily travelogue.
In many ways, the joy of grandchildren is the opportunity to enjoy them in all of their moods and phases without ultimately having to be responsible for their happiness, safety, or upbringing. It is not that we love them any less but rather we can spoil them and not have to deal so much with their disappointments in life. It is the best of both worlds. We can enjoy them without having to change their soiled diapers or help untangle their troubling moments.
Grandchildren also teach us a lot about ourselves. When we raise our own children our world is usually encased in a whirlwind of activities that includes school, sports, clubs, and playtime. As parents you are always operating at warp speed and juggling schedules of the entire family seven days a week. As grandparents we have the luxury of interacting with the grandkids on a much more controlled manner. We have enjoyed their sleepovers, taking them to movies and sporting events, camping with them and enjoying a weekly Sunday dinner with them in a family setting. We can attend their school events, share Christmas excitement with them and at the end of the event we can retire to the peace and serenity of our own home.
I get an occasional sad twinge as I watch them both growing up and becoming young adults, long removed from their cute childhood faze
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