So the book is finished, and now I wait for God's timing. But I'm not being very patient. I worked so hard to get the book in print, and now that it's done, it seems as if nothing is happening, other than me stabbing myself with a phillip's-head screwdriver when the screw went flying; my grandson Luke suffering a hairline fracture on his foot the first day of basketball camp; too much stress at work; Bob being stung by a bee; and someone somewhere in the world trying to use my debit card. I'm grateful for people who keep an eye out for these things, but this means that my debit card has been cancelled and a new one is being sent to me. I'm sure most of you have experienced something like this, and it makes me angry when someone thinks that they have a right to take something from someone else and inconvenience them. If they are so intelligent as to be able to steal my card number without ever seeing the card, why don't they put the brains the good Lord gave them to good use? I could go on and on about this topic, but I won't.
In the meantime, life goes on, and I'd like to know how in the world, when one is a grandparent, life can be so BUSY! This past weekend, for example, my husband and I had one of our pastors and his wife for dinner Saturday evening, so we spent the day preparing for that. But it wasn't just housework! No! We'd had a mowing edge installed around our gardens to prevent the newly-planted Zoysia grass from invading the beds, and the work left a great deal of dirt that needed to be mulched. So we purchased 15 bags of mulch and spent Saturday morning spreading it -- in the sunshine and 90-degree heat! EXHAUSTING! And then I had to go to the grocery store, clean house, and prepare food. The evening was very relaxing, and everyone had a good time, so the results were well worth the work.
Sunday arrived with its usual heat and humidity. I'm still trying to figure out how there can be so much humidity and no rain continuously; we are currently entering a moderate drought due to lack of rainfall, and we've experienced one run of 23 days straight of temps that reached 90 degrees or more. The lawns are parched and crispy, and I feel as if I spend my life watering the flower beds and vegetable gardens. I think we'll have to put our next water bill on time payments! I dread seeing it. Anyway, after church, we ate a quick lunch before my son and his wife brought over their two little boys, Niland and Ben. Niland will turn 3 on July 19, and Ben will turn 1 on July 20. Yep, one day apart in birthdays! In the meantime, my daughter and 8-year-old granddaughter Cami arrived. We filled the kiddie pool for Niland and Cami and tried to get Ben to take a much-needed nap, but to no avail. More than an hour later, we finally put him in the stroller and I took him for a walk, and he fell asleep within minutes and slept for well over an hour. I left him in the stroller in the shade of a tree, away from all the activity in the back yard, and sat near him and read, but soon I was fast asleep. I have no idea how long I napped. I was awakened by one of my husband's daughters arriving with her husband and 2-year-old son in tow, and shortly after, another daughter arrived with another son soon to be two in tow, and shortly after, the third daughter arrived with my mother-in-law in tow! BUSY place! At that time, little Ben awoke, a much happier baby than before. Soon even he was in the kiddie pool, along with his brother and step-cousins. I became drenched with one good squirt of the hose; Ben kept trying to climb on top of the child picnic table which held two 'lakes' complete with water, and virtual chaos ensued as parents endeavored to keep kids from dumping dirt into the pool and pouring water where it shouldn't be poured.
Thankfully, my daughter brought a huge pot of homemade pasta sauce, and my step-daughters brought fresh corn, so with the addition of grilled sausages, salad and bread, dinner was eaten by everyone, some inside and some outside. Later, when everyone was gone, I sighed as I began the cleanup, glad for such a blessing as family -- and glad that they all returned home!
I wasn't reluctant to fall into bed that night! Memories of the day -- Ben hugging me by leaning his head on my shoulder; Cami squirting me with the hose; Cooper singing "Happy Birthday" even though it wasn't anyone's birthday; Niland dumping dirt into the pool; and Wilson eating like no todler I've ever seen -- warmed my heart as I drifted off to sleep.
And despite prolific lightning and thunder in the distance this evening, still no rain at our house as I publish this post. Please, Lord, send us rain!
No comments:
Post a Comment