I visited my grandchildren a week ago and I was so glad to see them that I cried! They were confused by that a little and I had to explain it was tears of joy. My oldest grandson informed me he is nine going on ten, not as I had written earlier. He is a handsome fellow too, and has the most extraordinary eyes. And getting tall enough to reach my shoulders, and lean and always is strong.  I am so proud of them as I am proud of my only two “children” who are my daughters. My oldest granddaughter was a little standoffish. She is still irked with me from having not seen them for seven months; but she danced all over the living room for me and twirled about and showed me her own choreographed dances. She is a natural ballerina it seems and says that is her ambition. Also, she drew the most lovely picture of herself dancing for her mama and he ponytail was flying in a regal sort of way. The two youngest ones –well they are incredible to me. Their joy and happiness at seeing me and wanting to sing JESUS loves me immediately filled my heart with exuberant love.  The littlest one clung to me in a what you and I would call a “bear hug”  but he called it something quite different. So different I forgot what, but I had to ask , “what?” when he said it, and then ask my daughter what he meant by that and she said “bear hug”.  And the third grandchild down the line, was very troubled by my tears of joy. She does seem to have a naturally tender heart toward everyone. Later, she told me in the car in her sing-song way of singing that ” _______ is going to marry me and he is going to be SOOOOOOOOOO happy!” It made me happy to think that for her [because I am such a failure at marriage! that I certainly hope they get it right] and I thought to myself in what I call an aha moment, “aha, that is where I missed it, the ingredient for a happy marriage.  But she was thinking that way and in preschool ! I decided where I missed the attitude development for a happy marriage must have been at the age of four.

If  you don’t have children or grandchildren I am telling you that you should have them because they are the greatest blessing of all and GOD’s greatest rewards for enduring life.