It is a new year! Thank you God, for another chance.
I so enjoyed the Christmas Holidays. I enjoyed Christmas more this year than I think I have for quite a while. Why? My grandson spent a whole week with me. I'm starting to understand some things about my parents that I did not realize until I had a grandson. I don't know why the thought struck or why this particular memory surfaced. While enjoying my grandson I noticed that I am more willing to cut him some slack than I ever did my own children. That reminded me of this incident that happened when my two oldest daughters were about 10 and 8.
We were at my parents home and the girls were in a back bedroom playing. From the sounds of their laughter I concluded they were having a good time. My dad got up from his easy chair after a while and went back to the bedroom to check on the granddaughters. In a few moments he came back down the hall to the closet just off the living room and got the vacuum cleaner out of the closet and headed for the back bedroom where the girls were playing. I knew something was up so I casually made my way back to the girls' room. The scene was something else. Evidence suggested that the girls had been jumping on the bed with a bottle of baby powder opened so that as they jumped a cloud of baby powder drifted all over the bed and the floor. I put on my "you two are in for it" face and began to interrogate the prisoners. When I finally learned what had happened I decided to mete out the punishment. (No, I did not use torture.)
That is when the strangest thing happened. My dad started trying to convince me that the girls were just having a little fun and it was no trouble at all to clean up the mess. In fact he said he would clean up the mess! I was shocked. Why? You have to understand that when I was growing up this man was a strict disciplinarian. (I can remember clearly those times when a spanking was involved and dad would tell me, "This hurts me more than it hurts you." I always thought, "Yeah right." As a parent I discovered that disciplining your children is never pleasant. It is the job of a parent but it is not fun.) Anyway, this man who had strictly enforced his laws on me was suddenly the a man full of grace. I wondered what in the world came over this man? I know now. I don't know what you call it. Maybe grandparentitis. Whatever it is it gets every single grandparent. It transforms you. You become putty in the little paws of this grandson or granddaughter. I get it now. You know what? I don't care that I have it. As a matter of fact it feels so good.
