MOLDY MOUTHS

Our grandson Neil spent a few weeks with us for several summer beginning when he was seven years old. Neil taught us how to be good grandparents.
Neil was even responsible for getting rid of Grandpop's sternness by calling attention to Grandpop's "The Look." Neil would fall out of his chair as if he was suddenly vaporized by "The Look", and that would make Grandpop laugh. We rarely saw "The Look" after that summer.
One day while Neil was swimming in the pool and was spending most of his time under water, like he always did at that age, his head suddenly popped out of the water and he made a declaration which he has kept even to this day. He said, "Grandma, I've just decided to always be generous and kind like all of the Filipinos."
While visiting with us, his primary thoughts were always about taking gifts home to his parents and all of his cousins. We spent many hours picking out gifts for them. His suitcases were always laden with gifts from Oklahoma, so it really was part of his Filipino heritage. They are definitely generous and kind people.
Here is a poem Neil wrote when he was visiting us when he was eight years old. He's a wonderful philosopher!

"The world goes round from you and me,
Together we are family,
Do not gripe and do not scold
Or your mouth just might turn into mold."

Grandparents, watch out for your moldy mouths.

REAL LUCK

Be attentive to what you say to your grandchildren. We, as grandparents, have a monumental influence upon our grandchildren. Our actions are important, but our words are equally important.
When one of our grandsons, Jarrett, was visiting us from California one summer I casually mentioned to him that I had heard that luck means Living Under Christ's Kindness. He listened to me, and made his usual comment of, "Cool, Grandma."
A few months later we were visiting our son and his family in California. While we were there we were invited to attend open house at Jarrett's school. He was in first grade at the time. We observed his art work and his penmanship papers hanging on the wall and we were very proud of him because he has always been an excellent student. He's so eager to please his parents, grandparents and his teachers.
Jarrett introduced us to his teacher. She shook our hands and said to me, "Are you the grandma who told Jarrett what 'luck' means?"
I cautiously took credit for it, curious as to her reaction. The teacher gave Jarrett a motherly hug and said to him, "I'll never forget that 'luck' means Living Under Christ's Kindness."
She turned to us and said, "Jarrett was so enthused to share that with the class at the first of school and we were all delighted to know that. I will never forget it and I will never forget Jarrett for telling me."
Well, my chest swelled with pride, just like any grandparent does when someone praises a grand child. I was especially impressed that Jarrett was not ashamed to share that truth, that luck is Living Under Christ's Kindness. He's always been a deep thinker, very merciful, and a gift to us from God.
I know he'll always remember that luck is not just by a chance occurrence but it is a gift from Kindness Himself.

A HAIR RAISING CHAIR

Gramps and I went to see a New York musical traveling company put on a performance of Camelot at a small college in eastern Oklahoma. It was an excellent performance.
After we left the theater, full to the brim with culture and sophistication, we passed a new business close to the college campus, right on Main Street.
Gramps said to me, very seriously, "Isn't that a terrible name for a beauty shop?"
"What name?" I inquired.
Gramps continued with his serious criticism. "See the name on the big sign over there advertising that new beauty shop? It says, 'The Electric Chair.'"
Surely not, was my thought, doubting that they would ever have any customers with a name like that. So I looked more closely in the direction of the sign. There it was as clear as day, "The Eclectic Chair."
Gramp's dyslexia had kicked in and he missed the C in "eclectic" and had added an R.
He's a hoot to live with.
I was relaying the occasion of Gramps dyslexic mistake to a friend and she told me that her sister-in-law misread a sign advertising a diaper service. She was incensed that a diaper service would name its company Titty Ditty. My friend clued her in, that the actual name was Tidy Didy.
Aging eyes plus a little dyslexia can get us into lots of trouble.

SIBLING LOVE

I guess sibling rivalry goes back to Cain and Abel and continues today. Sometimes it can be maddening for parents. Sometimes it can be hilarious for grandparents.
Gramps was taking two of our grandchildren, Jesse and Lindsey, to school today and he heard a typical teenage brother and preteen sister story.
Lindsey, 12 years old, told Gramps that she kissed Jesse at church last night.
Jesse, 15 years old, remarked that she kissed him to impress her friends at church.
Gramps chimed in and said that it was so sweet for Lindsey to kiss her brother. He added that she must love Jesse very much.
Lindsey added insult to injury by confessing that she does loves her brother very much.
Then Lindsey told the conclusion to the story, that Jesse has since told her, "If we hadn't been at church you would have been on the floor."
Gramps gave wonderful advice to Lindsey. He suggested to her that she not do that again.
Jesse gratefully told Gramps, "Thanks."
Lindsey's closing remark was, "I won't. Now I'm scared."
Sibling rivalry has gone on forever, but this is an example of the truth, that sibling rivalry is really based on love.
The real truth is that there wouldn't be any problem if demonstrative, pre-teen sisters were totally invisible.

DUST OR NO DUST?

I love decorating for all occasions, but I especially love decorating for Christmas. Gramps has always said that I get my taste in colors from south of the border. He's right. I love bright colors in all hues and in many combinations.
When Christmas comes I decorate anything and everything that doesn't walk, talk, and move around on two legs or four legs. Actually when I'm in the middle of decorating, Gramps tells our family and visitors that they should always keep moving because if they sit or stand still long enouth I'll decorate them. It's very tempting, really.
Today I found a perk to overdoing the decorating and being as garish as I want to be. I decided that it would be a waste of precious time to dust anything that I'm going to decorate because the dust will be hidden by the abundance of decorations. Fortunately, dust is not one of our personal antigens, so it's no health hazard to Gramps and me. With the blinking lights which I put on everything and the garish colors in the plethora of decorations that adorn the inside of our house, no one will know that there is a layer of dust under all of it. What you don't know won't hurt you. If guests start to sneeze, I'll just offer them a Benadryl without any explanation except that it must be the Oklahoma winds blowing something in.
The bonus of my new discovery is that I won't have to dust again until close to the middle of January because we observe Twelfth Night and leave the Christmas decorations up until then. Yea! That means I can delay my least favorite chore of dusting for at least thirty more days. That makes sixty days total, since the last time I dusted was before Thanksgiving. No one will know the difference unless you or I tell them, and I never reveal my secrets to anyone except my most trusted friends.
By the middle of January I'll put the decorations up in storage boxes and get the Pledge out and clean and shine everything that doesn't walk or talk or move around, so the timing will be perfect.
You just have to figure these things out as you get older.

MISTAKES

"Neil is a successful businessman now"

Our grandson Neil has always had great wisdom, even when he was a little boy. He spoke deep, convicting wisdom to me one time and I think maybe it came from heaven because of its importance.
Gramps, Neil and I had gone to eat at a fast food place, Neil's favorite one. Gramps had inadvertently locked the keys in the car and we were miles from home. After calling several neighbors and family members who weren't home at the time, the only thing left to do was walk home.
I began joking with Neil, trying to lighten the mood of everyone involved in the experience, and I said, "Well, Neil, what are we going to have to do to Gramps for locking the keys in the car? Can you think of anything we could do to him?" My objective was not to really punish Gramps, just get Neil's mind off of the long walk."
The following words came out of the mouth of Neil, seven years old at the time, "Grandma, everybody makes mistakes and next time it might be you."
Wow, did that stop me in my tracks! Such great wisdom from a child. I congratulated Neil on his mature insight and asked him to forgive me for my curt comment. Of course he did.
The good news is that we stopped at a store on the long walk home and the owner let us borrow his car to drive home to get our keys.
I think that Neil's wise comment set up the solution to the problem because it took all guilt off of Gramps and all sarcasm off of me. That cleared the atmosphere for the solution to appear. I learned a lifelong lesson from Neil, not to hold anyone to their mistakes because I might be the next one to make a mistake.
Thanks to Neil for his wise words and the courage to say them.

Parking Space Angels

"Jesse"

Gramp's and I have always instructed our grandchildren to look for our special parking space right up front at malls, stores and athletic events so we won't have to walk too far to the front door. We always have a space right in front and it's still astounds the grandchildren that we always have one every time we go someplace.
Gramps and I just take it for granted that we will have a parking space close to the front door. We've never doubted it and we've always trusted our parking space angel to provide it for us. We've never wondered how he does it, we just accept it by faith and go on expecting it.
One day when our grandson Jesse was six years old he commented out of the blue that he finally figured out how the parking space angel does what he does for us. I was curious as to what he had figured out, but I was amazed that he had been stewing about it for years.
His assessment of the working of the parking space angel was this. He said, "Meme, when you decide that you want to go to Wal-Mart or some store, your parking space angel leaves you and goes to the store and whispers in the ear of a person who has a close parking space, 'It's time to go home. It's time to go home.' Then that person pays for the purchases and goes to his car and pulls out of the parking space just as you get to the special space. Then you pull in. That's how it works."
I was amazed that he had come up with that wonderful description of the interaction of heavenly angels with earthly beings. I told him, "Jesse, you are exactly right. That's exactly how it works."
I'll always appreciate Jesse's spiritual insight into the matter of the parking space angels. Now that I know how it all works, I really have faith for my special parking space when I go shopping.
"A little child shall lead them," the Bible says, but I experienced that a little child can also teach us.