What a fun time I just had with this cutie! There is nothing better than spending one on one time with your grandchildren. This time with Anna was a real treat.
You can really get a clear idea of the passage of time through pictures. The top picture is from this weekend - Anna and I together, having a great time while Gwen and Tim (and Lia, Ellie, and Zeke) are on a Youth Retreat. The bottom picture is the very first time I watched Lia in 2008 when Gwen and Tim were on a Youth Mission Trip. Since 2008, I have either been with on a Mission trip to watch a child or watched Gwen and Tim's children at home while they served on youth retreats/missions. But this year marked an important change. I am now back to only having one child to watch! This was the first youth activity that Zeke could attend (he will be a middle schooler in the fall.) So it was just a special Anna and Grandma time. For the last 14 years, at least once a year (three times a year recently) I have done my own "mission" taking care of my grandchildren so that Gwen and Tim can serve where they are called.
Anna had a very special time all planned out for us. This included a special "check in" to the "Johnson Hotel", where I was given a special guest room. She had really gone all out and put special things I might need in the guest room (even a Bible) and extra things in the bathroom. She was very excited.
The first activity on Anna's agenda was for us to create another "needle felting" project. If you missed a couple blogs ago, we learned this new craft. I had purchased this project that day and Anna was waiting to complete it when I could help her out. We managed together to create this wonderful kitty. Anna was so happy with it and it was such a small project. We had a movie night and Anna got to pick the movie. In typical "youngest" fashion, she pointed out that she "never" (okay, rarely) gets to pick what movie is chosen. I was a bit hesitant about her choice, but I have to say, I genuinely enjoyed that movie. I can't remember the name of this kid movie, but it was roughly about some kids of Super Heros, who had their own special powers. It sparked lots of good conversations and we both agreed it was worth watching.
After a good nights sleep, we went for a "fancy" breakfast out in a restaurant. Anna is a wonderful conversationalist and also noticed how hard the waitress was working. I am amazed at how aware Anna is and just how much she has to say. What a pleasant meal it was!
Anna has been asking to go shopping to spend some gift cards she has been saving, as well as some "tooth fairy" money. So, we started out at the ever kid-friendly Dollar Tree. She was able to get 6 very special items and spend her teeth money. As a special surprise, I took her to one of the kids favorite playgrounds. It had rained heavily all day on Friday. So early on Saturday morning it was still a bit wet, but it was warm and the sun was shining!
Anna had a great time, running and playing. She was surprised to discover that she has grown a couple of inches since her last visit to this play space and she could now reach one of those "rings that slide on a track". (I am not sure what that is called, but it is the top picture on the right). So we both spent a wonderful hour in the much needed sunshine and fresh air.
We visited a couple more stores for Anna to finish all of her important purchases. She managed to easily spend her Easter Basket gift card from Aunt Susie and Uncle Doug on very "girly" purchases of hand cream, lip balm. hand sanitizers and a special holder for that sanitizer. She was one happy girl for sure.
No shopping spree with an 8 year old girl is complete without visiting Claire's. She was able to find exactly what she wanted and we ended our shopping day with one very happy Anna.
When we arrived home, Anna was surprised to find her seed project on the ground, after it sprouted its first leaf and grew out of the ziplock that had been it's home. It sure is amazing to see these Lima beans grow roots and then sprout and grow up toward the sun! Even those seeds needed that warm sun today. It was special that I got to see the growth of those seeds as I was thinking about just how much Anna has grown up.
We did a bit of organizing in Anna's room and then had plenty of time to get outside and take a long walk. We explored all over their yard and watched for any "wildlife" we might see. We sure heard a bunch of frogs but only saw squirrels and an occasional bunny.
On our walk in their neighborhood, the frog sounds were almost deafening. We tried really hard to actually find a frog, but no success. When we got back home, there was only a couple of hours left until the family returned home. We played many rounds of "War" and I managed to actually win one. I read many stories out of some big "collection" books. Anna would have sat and listened to more, but I got her to agree on another game instead. She decided on Blokus and we played a few games.
I learned that Anna really likes Blokus. One of the reasons she likes this game is because she got to play it "every night" with Tim when he was working from home, due to Covid restrictions. Isn't it interesting that something that we so often saw as hard and so bad, allowed for this special time with Tim when he didn't have a long commute. It doesn't take very much to find good things from what was a very bad situation.
So this grandma came home with a smile on my face. Even though we are back to our (usual) April rainy weather, I still have that sunny feeling that this special time brings. I have been thinking about the desire to always be moving forward. I am not sure exactly where that desire comes from, but I know I have certainly felt that at times. It is terrible to feel stuck and for so many of us, the pandemic has made us feel like being stuck in a nightmare. We were isolated and limited and it was hard to not be fearful. All we could do was pray to move on - to move forward out of this horrible situation. Yet, in this event, in some ways, I am moving backwards to a time of one on one with my grandkids. And in this case, backwards is not terrible. I realized today that it is really important to move forward and find one on one time with each of the kids. There it is - the moving forward that I am looking for.
Over the past year or so, I have been wondering if the things that I had thought I was to accomplish and haven't yet done, are really FOR ME. Those things that I thought the Lord was directing me towards but somehow they have not come to pass. I know I am not alone in feeling sort of "done" as we age. I have entered a new season of life as a widow. So in many ways, I have less keeping me from doing all of those things I once could say "I don't have time for this". Over the last several months, I have been prayerfully considering a long list of "not yet accomplished" things. I am convinced that this is something that we all should do often. Sometimes we get so caught up in just doing things that we don't stop and reflect and pray about them. Or sometimes we get so used to NOT doing the things that we forget to pray about them. So, moving forward (there it is again - that moving forward thing) I plan to be more intentional about this list. I will take time to prioritize each item and most importantly, this will help me remember to be in prayer about them. Yes, this moving forward thing is good.
Jesus, thank you for the revelation you bring to us as we reflect on our everyday activities. Help us to hear your voice, Holy Spirit, as we encounter those long lists of undone accomplishments. Give us courage and boldness to step into those areas that may feel scary or hard. Thank you for the love and laughter of children. Help us Jesus, to know you are walking with us as we move forward. Amen
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