Oh how sweet spending time with littles is. Their joy, curiosity and energy just pours out of them. I am convinced that my kids need to just keep having kids so I can spend time with newborns to teenagers and even young adults. Just basking in the glow of their view on life. They will keep me seeing life from all angles and not get focused on my own old lady views of what is important.
Who knew that putting broccoli between your toes to eat is a good idea. Now I may not try this myself but oh the joy I felt seeing Felix eat this way. Perhaps that would be a good diet plan for me. Only eat what I can reach from putting my foot not in my mouth but near my mouth.
It is incredibly difficult to see an almost eight year old navigate the loss of her daddy. Her smile is there for all of us to see but the loss in her eyes is evidence of the sadness she is keeping inside. What a gift Ami is to each of us as she keeps Hector alive in her smile. But how tight we must hold her to keep her from falling apart. She may not express what she needs but we need to look a little closer for clues on how to get her through.
Teasing my thirteen year old grandgirl that she should not be going to a game to watch my beloved Seahawks when I have never been was fun. Of course she should be going with her dad. If it was truly a priority for me to go, I would have gone already. She had such a smile in her #3 jersey honoring Russell Wilson right beside her own hero, her dad. What a gift that picture of them was. Far better to see their faces than to be at a game, in the cold, myself.
Enjoying my time with Lissa on the phone or on Facebook where I can't hide from her seventeen year old wisdom and knowledge of how I am emotionally. She is not fooled by my smile or silliness. Her concern and direction are clear and appreciated. It seems I should be guiding her when in fact she leads me in so many ways. Liss has lived through so much in her young years. The loss of not one but two fathers by their own actions, growing up too fast. Married so young that it is hard to relate to her fellow seniors at school. Her coming into her own in school, life and love. What a blessing it is that this sweet young woman chooses no demands to spend time with me each day.
From four month old Millie who just moved into her new crib to Lissa calling for cooking advice~I am blessed to be Noni to these seven gifts.
What I need to remember is that God gifted me first with the children He chose for me through the love and generosity of their birthmoms. Then my four grew and added the love of their lives to our family. Another gift of stretching our hearts to include even more. Now I get to be a Noni to these my family but also to the friends who have become family and their children and their children's children.
This has been a difficult season for so many. I have been struggling with my emotions and isolating myself. How fortunate I am to have others that reach out when I am not able. From the joy of a newborn to friends my own age, I am included in the lives of others. I have a confidence that I will get my legs under me and move forward from this sadness but I am thankful for each person in my life who takes my hand to gently lead me through. These are my angels and the wind beneath my wings.
In Him,
Joyful
1-7-22
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