Friday, July 1, 2011

Will You Be My Grandma Forever?

My granddaughter really surprised me the other day when my hubby and I were taking her back to her mom's house.  Grandpa was telling her how much we loved her and asked her if she understood that.  He has said that to our children and me for years and it is part of his everyday conversation...he just wants to make sure he tells his loved ones that he loves them.  But when our granddaughter asked if we would alawys be her grandpa and grandma were we a little stunned.  "Of course!" I told her and then explained how her daddy is our son and we will always love him and that she is his daughter which makes her our granddaughter and that we will always love her.

She thought about it for a moment than said that she had some grandparents for awhile but now they aren't.  You see her mom remarried and then divorced so those step-grandparents are no longer in her life.  Her older brothers have different grandparents and we were once considered their grandparents but now we aren't.  Her mom has a new boyfriend and well....they may become her new grandparents.  Whew!  Life is complicated!

I wondered if her daddy thought the same thing for by the time I had married my my hubby, I had divorced my son's father and remarried only to divorce again.  Life didn't turn out like I thought it would.  But now I have been married for over 28 years and I think it is being committed through thick and thin and allowing each other to mature along the way, taking the good, the bad and the ugly with a grain of salt.  For me the most important thing is having a relationship with Jesus that sustains you when you think you will fall apart.

But our granddaughter and grandson do have 2 sets of grandparents that have been married for a long time.  Her maternal grandparents have been married close to 40 years and her great-grandparents have been married for over 65 years, so they do see that marriage can last if you persevere.  She knows her mama and daddy will always be there for her and I want her to know that we will never leave her or forsake her. I want her to know that Jesus will never leave her or forsake her.  She tells me she loves Jesus and that she wants to know more about him.  What an opportunity to teach her about her Creator and Lord.

California Here We Come!

When I graduated from high school 40 years ago ( I remember as a youngster I would say that time frame as if it were forever!) my friend, Angie and I agreed we would buy an old van and drive to California.  Well, that didn't happen!  After graduation I decided to get married at the end of the summer and she went to college, so we just enjoyed some California dreamin' and grown up reality.  But even though it may have taken me 36 years to get to California to drive the Pacific Coastal Highway I enjoyed it so much that my husband and I are going back to the sunny state to explore the northern area and see the amazing redwoods.

After my 20 year class reunion my husband accepted a transfer with his job to the wonderful state of North Carolina and so I have missed seeing my good friends in Ohio.  That is until a couple of weeks ago when I visited Angie and found out that she has been traveling...ALOT! 59 countries.  I have a lot of catching up to do. This year alone my hubby and I have been to New Orleans for the Sugar Bowl...interesting place; Haiti...a wonderful mission trip; The Shenandoah Mountains on a road trip...beautiful drive; The Biltmore in Ashville...I never felt so pampered; Ohio with family....my favorite; and now on to Northern California and then in July, Lake Cumberland in KY with my family again.  Still the best is seeing my mom and dad!