Coming and Going

The grandkids came up from Texas last Thursday night.  We could hardly wait for them to arrive.  Few things are as welcomed as the sight of their headlights coming up the street.  A very close second, however, would be seeing the taillights going down the street.  If you are a grandparent, you already know what I'm talking about.  If not, read on and I'll "splain it to you Lucy."

The grandkids live six hours away.  As there are five of them and the fact that our son-in-law is a preacher, there are only a couple of weekends a year, which are allowed for the trip to Grammy's and Pops'.  We always look forward to their visits.  And, the kids are always excited to see us, which sets up the "dance" we have with them that leads to the "drain" we experience as our middle-aged bodies begin to feel the wear of non-stop action.

Lest you think it is a case of the young and exuberant invading and overpowering the old and exhausted, I hasten to add the fact that we spend the first half of the visit winding them up with kisses, hugs, tickles and such.  But unlike Grammy and Pops, who wind down just as fast as we wind up, they have a perpetual winding mechanism that never does quite unwind.

We actually love all the hiking, boating. swimming, wrestling, hugging, coloring, playing and all the rest of the non-stop activity.  The problem is, however, we don't have an unending source of energy or an endless appetite for activity.  Our batteries don't recharged to 100% after each nap or night's sleep and they aren't good for an entire day at any rate.  Our batteries have to slow charge and, as old batteries are wont to do, ours run out well before the day is over.

But, stubborn as gray-haired people so often tend to be, we aren't willing to go to bed early or stay in bed late.  We stay up way past when we put the grandkids down so we can visit with the adult kids and get up early so we can have a cup of  coffee and visit before the games begin again.

So why, why do we do it?  Grandparents never ask this question and those who are won't need to hear my answer, you already know.  For the rest of you, let me first direct you to the Word of God: "Children’s children are a crown to the aged" (Prov 17:6).   Grandchildren are God's reward for having allowed your teenage children to reach marrying age.

Do you remember how proud you were as a new parent?  Grandchildren are children squared.  Being blessed to have children is amazing but to be doubly blessed to enjoy your children's children - that is amazing plus.  To enjoy your adult children, spoil your grandchildren and then to send them all home so you can rest up for the next visit - that's really living!  We like it so much that we make trips to there home in-between their visits to ours.

To see the headlights coming is thrilling.  To see the tailights going is peaceful.  Both the coming and the going are part of the God-ordained blessing of grand-parenting.  Their coming provides an excitement that helps keep us young and able to better enjoy these middle yea5rs.  Their going provides the rest that allows us to reach our Golden Years.  Yes, we need our grandchildren both coming and going.  Jus' Say'n.