Summer\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Waxing Summer Moon<\/p>\n
Grandpas Bill Schmidt, Scott Simpson and Frank Broderick (Woolly Mammoths all) prepared me for the wonder of grandchildren.\u00a0 They were spot on.\u00a0 Ruth came in last night and said, “Hi, Grandpop!”\u00a0 She had me at coming through the door.\u00a0 Gabe got transferred from Dad to me soon after Jon came in the house.\u00a0 Gabe looked up and gave me one of his trademark smiles, Happy to see you Grandpop.\u00a0 That’s what I heard, though Gabe’s 1 year plus mouth formed no words.<\/p>\n
Herschel, their 6 year old German Shorthair, recently diagnosed with hemangiosarcoma, bounded in as if he had no stinking terminal illness.\u00a0 He proceeded to pick up a small Ruthie sandal and run from one end of the house to the other with it in\u00a0 his mouth.\u00a0 This is Herschel’s way of signaling anxiety.<\/p>\n
The Olsons stopped to see the Johnsons in Nevada, Iowa.\u00a0 Zelma Johnson, Jon’s grandma, still lives in this small Iowa town where Kate and her sisters grew up.\u00a0 Due to estrangement from David, Jon’s father, Jon had not seen his grandma in a long time.\u00a0 Jen got to meet Zelma and Zelma got to meet her great-grandchildren, Gabe and Ruth.\u00a0 David and Kate were high school sweethearts.<\/p>\n
Kate got two cloth bags full of kiddy stuff at the dollar store.\u00a0 Ruth opened her hers and took out each item and showed it to me, exclaiming happily as only small children can.\u00a0 Retaining the\u00a0 young child’s sense of of awe and wonder at simple things is a goal worth keeping at the forefront of our maturity.\u00a0 Who needs a Lexus when she has a bubble maker?\u00a0 Who needs a fancy house when there’s plenty of chalk to draw on the sidewalk?\u00a0 Who needs fine clothes when a small electric fan with lights can entrance you?<\/p>\n
These visits, back and forth, them here, us there are critical to family cohesion.\u00a0 They are why I still travel to Indiana and Texas for family reunions.\u00a0 As Grandpa Frank put it, “You don’t have a family if you never see each other.”\u00a0 True.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Summer\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Waxing Summer Moon Grandpas Bill Schmidt, Scott Simpson and Frank Broderick (Woolly Mammoths all) prepared me for the wonder of grandchildren.\u00a0 They were spot on.\u00a0 Ruth came in last night and said, “Hi, Grandpop!”\u00a0 She had me at coming through the door.\u00a0 Gabe got transferred from Dad to me soon after Jon came in … Continue reading The Grandchildren Are In The House<\/span>