Fall retreat weekend recap

 I spent this last weekend with Anna while Gwen, Tim, Lia, Ellie and Zeke were away at Fall Retreat.  It was Gwen and Tim's 11th year leading this retreat weekend for the youth of their church.  I have seen the passage of time as the kids have grown up and instead of staying home with Grandma Lyn, they have gone on the trip.  This year was the second year that it was just Anna and Grandma.  We talked about the fact that we will only have one more year after this year - Anna is in 4th Grade and she will go on this trip as a 6th Grader.  It makes me feel so old!  

We had so much fun together.  We talked about so many things.  We shopped and we ate special meals together.  We played some games and made some crafts.  About the only thing we didn't get to was baking!  But there will be time for that in the future!  Sunny and Chandler (their two beagles) required much more attention than Anna!  Sunny is still adjusting to being a family dog after being rescued  as a part of the Envigo Beagle rescue.  While she is 2 years old, in many ways she acts like a puppy.  And the much older Chandler (he is a senior dog at almost 14)  has very little time for her shenanigan's.  Anna is great with the dogs and feeds and helps care for them.  Grandma is a sorry fill in as far as the dogs are concerned.  This is the first year that we didn't spend much time outside.  It was our first really COLD weekend and it was also cloudy and rainy.  I believe it was the first year that I didn't visit a playground!  Another mark of the aging of the kids.  Anna was happy to stay in, making some beaded bracelets, do some crafts and apply some press on nails! 

We created these posters from a kit with stickers and gems, and then wrote information about our picture.  My creation is now hanging on my fridge!  

A week ago, Susie and I got together at my house to scrap for the weekend.  Our normal scrap weekend at the hotel could not happen, so we decided to make do with just the two of us.  I am currently working on 2020, which has proven to be somewhat difficult to do.  The combination of Covid and the change in our family routines and Ken's illness and death made it hard to put pictures on the page and find the words to explain the events shown.  I was certainly thinking about these photos of Anna and I from the fall retreat in 2020.

The mask around her neck and our "outside" dining are certainly reminders of 2020.  But she was so young!  And so was I!  My hair is a bit grayer and there are a few more wrinkles and saggy skin.  I so treasure this time with each of my grandkids.  As I age, it seems to be more and more important to me.  

I also got to help in Rock (Sunday School) on Sunday.  I forget how much I love those little kids.  It always brings me so much joy to watch them grab onto a concept or just remember a story or verse.  The current Sermon Series at my church is on the 10 commandments.  We are only up to the third commandment and I have been amazed at the insight and new connections that I am learning each week.  It is hard to imagine that at 69 years old, I am still learning and seeing new revelation each week from the Bible.  One thing that I know from watching Anna, being with those Rock kiddos and every time I am with each of my grandkids, there is ALWAYS something new to learn!  I am so thankful that we never get to old for new revelation.

It is said that grandparents who help care for grandchildren, are healthier and stay more active later in life.  I believe that is true for me.  I looked outside today at the crisp, sunny fall day and decided it was time to put away my outdoor patio for the season.  A look at the predicted weather ahead for the next couple of weeks showed lots of rain and much colder weather.  So I set about getting the job done! 

Within and hour and a half, I had the job done.  While it is sad to know that winter is on the way, I am so thankful for the 6 months that I got to enjoy the outdoors protected from the bugs!  My kids seem to think that I should have help to do this, but as long as I am able to accomplish these things, I plan to!  Hopefully, thanks to time with those grandkids, I will be able to for many more years!  

 Jesus, thank you for reminding me that getting older does not mean you stop learning and growing.  Thank you for bringing new meaning to Bible passages that I have read for years and years.  Holy Spirit, give all of us older adults courage and boldness to step out and connect with people of all ages.  Give us opportunities to share and learn from each other.  Thank you Jesus that you never leave us and you care for us all.  Amen