Early visit

I remember when I was a young mother with a gaggle of little ones trailing me wherever I went, and occasionally we'd make a trip over to my grandmother's house for a little visit. How her face lit up when we walked through her back door! She fussed and clucked over those little guys, laughing at everything they said or did and remarking at how perfectly adorable they were. She was so grateful for the visit and always sad when we left.


Early yesterday morning I was putting laundry together up in my bedroom when I thought I heard the back door open below. I contiued doing what I was doing, assuming it was my husband home to grab something and I knew he'd call up the stairs eventually to see where I was. When I got the laundry into a nice pile I headed for thes stairs to toss it down - and there was my 4-year-old grandson making his way up to find me. I was thrilled to realize that my daughter had arrived with her kids for a quick visit before she dropped the eldest off at school.

And I thought about my grandmother.

If I, who am an active, busy middle-aged woman was so happy to see these little ones, how excited must she have been when I came in her door? She was in her early eighties by then and although she was still pretty active for her age, she spent a great deal of her time in the house, alone. Seeing those kids must have been tonic for her soul.

Time and age give us great perspective in life and sometimes we regret the things we did or didn't do. I've been thinking a lot about Grandma lately and wishing I'd taken the time and trouble to pack those kids in the car a little more often. As difficult as it was to get that crew from one place to another, I know now how much it meant to her and how much brighter and more cheerful I could have made her life by making the effort more often. I did a better job with my own mother but it was easier because I lived right next door.

Oh how life has a way of reaching into our souls and touching us with the simplest things. I loved my grandmother and I wish now I'd done a better job of showing her that. But I've learned that by putting myself out a little I can still touch the people I love and its more than worth the effort.