A blessing

Ken and I talked about the need to find out the kids' routine. We never imagined it might mean letting them streak through the house, naked, with only their baby towels on their heads and capes flying behind them! This is the after-bath game. And, watching Kairo attempt to run on his new-found legs brought me the delightful laughter that resounded in my soul.
In just a few days, Jon and April leave for Belgium for two weeks, and Ken and I will be in charge of our grandkids. Eva is closer to five than four-and-a-half. Kairo is almost18 months. Jon won the trip; Ken and I got first prize, though! (We'll see if I'm still thinking that way in a couple weeks.)

(I wrote the above paragraphs in October 2014.)
Today, I look back on that two weeks with teary-eyes and a gleaming happy soul. The wonder that my grandkids see in the world helps me to look anew at things every day. But, the warmth of their smiles, the delight of their giggles, and wonderful sound of hearing, "Grandma!!!" from across the room when I went to school to pick her up - they are all memories that will never fade. 
Then, there were other things:
I bought material and a pattern. I cut it out and sewed it together, so Eva could be Mary Poppins for Halloween. When she saw it she said, quite plainly and unemotionally, "I'm so excited to wear it." I thought she was being polite. A few days later, when her mom and dad pulled up in the driveway, having been gone for 14 whole days, she jumped up and down once. Then, she started wiggling her little arms. Then, she stopped. I discovered then that she plays her emotions very close to her heart and doesn't display them openly. So, when she was showing her mom and dad the Mary Poppins outfit and told them, "I'm so excited to wear it," I knew that she was actually jumping up and down inside. And that's exactly what my heart did. 
We got Kairo to go down the slide at the park. He was really enjoying it, while Eva was doing the twisty slide. Kairo climbed his way up to the top with Eva, and Pa. So Pa announced to me that he was going to put the boy on the slide. I waited at the bottom. He came to a stop with a shock on his face. Then, he burst into a smile. A huge smile. I took him over to the edge of the sandpit, and he pointed. Ah, the little man of few words. "Again?" I asked. "Again," he said. And so he did. Mr. Adventure. 

Gotta give her mom some credit. She did the hat. Beautiful, huh?

And yes, over a year later, I still know that Ken and I got first prize. 

Someone pointed out it had been a year. Yes, it has. For good reasons that I won't go into. What I will go into is where I'm going. Except that I'm not sure.
I have discovered that Love is a very powerful thing. And that love means giving up a lot of things. But mostly, my right to be right all the time! I used to have a real determination in that regard. Now, being right - or shall we say being on the winning end isn't as important as building others up, esteeming them as better than myself, and not keeping myself in any wrong attitude.
So, where am I headed? I really don't know. And, I'm okay with that. I've found that walking with the Lord as He leads everyday is a much more peaceful place to be.
It is my nature, as a friend told me, to help others carry their burdens. Yes. It is. I want to help. I always want to help. I'm always offering ideas, suggestions. It's not always appreciated. There's another burden I put on myself. So, here I was, heaping all these added burdens on me; trying to help others carry theirs. God said, "Put them down." Basically, I have my own burdens to deal with, and I have to figure that out. HIS yoke is easy and His burden is light. I want my burden to be light, but it will only be that way if I yoke up with Him and let him co-carry it. I have a feeling it will (THEY will all) feel lighter when I figure out how to do that. But, I won't be able to figure out how heavy or light my burdens are until I put aside everyone else's. So, I have some real work to do.