What more could a grandmother ask for? It has been a feast for the senses here lately. Smell: It is orange blossom season here in the country in rural central Florida. Every trip down the road, or even the driveway, means lovely, overwhelming fragrance like no other on earth. Little Rosie picked a small clump of blossoms and put them on the kitchen table the other day, and the fragrance is still pervading.Taste: It is also strawberry season in our area. Every season, a Plant City grower calls homeschooling families to come glean before they plow the plants under, so this week the girls packed up their families and go pick for a couple days. What a wonderful reward! Gallons and gallons of strawberries in the freezer, as well as all you can eat fresh – what a treat! Especially for children who absolutely love fresh fruit. This year, Grandmother has been working on preparations for the older children’s competition in April, so Danny and I didn’t get to go along, but we were richly rewarded anyway – one child in each family picked for us., and our freezer is full, too. That’s Rachel picking in the sunshine above.
Hearing: As well as smell and taste, our ears have been treated to the wonderful sounds of grandchildren sharing and honing their God-given talents in music. In the picture above, Gracie and Callie are receiving a voice lesson from Miss Christi Bell, their homeschool-graduate friend. Christi and her sister Katie sing opera in Italian and are quite the polar opposites of our bluegrass playin’ youngin’s. Gracie and Callie wanted to improve their vocal quality, and it is a joy to listen to the lovely strains echoing through the house – quite different from the enthusiastic “Boil Them Cabbage” of Monday school!!
Touch (my heart): 15 yo Callie diligently bent over the sewing machine working with a spirit of excellence on her skirt and blouse to enter for competition. Not too many girls enter sewing anymore, but these girls want to learn every skill that will polish them as Proverbs 31 women – and that touches my heart.
Sight: 2 yo Joey trying to catch a racing lizard; 13 yo Mary quietly and voluntarily unloading Grandmother’s dishwasher; strong and sturdy Miller boys helping Granddaddy unload hay to the barn; 18 yo Kitty talking to baby sister Emma Jane; the blessing every day when the sun casts its golden glow on my little piece of Heaven.
6 comments:
Ah! What a beautiful picture you paint Grandmama!
Your house IS a little piece of heaven! (To us Grandkids at least!) :)
Love always,
Sarah
How do you make it work, the multi-generational vision you have? How do you have your kids close, let them raise their own families, but maintain the sense of community and family? I'd love to hear your thoughts on this.
Thank you, sweet Sarah! Lora Lynn, I appreciate your thoughtful question. This is no perfect family, and I am not a perfect mother of adult children, just ask them!! But I think the Lord has blessed our family relationships because of just that . . . relationship. Relationship takes work, dying to self, and a real desire to follow God's principles and patterns as outlined in His Word. I have emailed your question to myself and want to pray about it and find a good time to answer in more detail. But I think it boils down to relationship, according to the Word.
Actually, I want to edit myself somewhat. When I said, relationship takes work, I mean it takes conscious, proactive thought and action. Too much of today's parenting is basically floating with whatever happens, relying on someone else to make it happen, being reactionary rather than proactive, being half-asleep, rather than making discipleship happen. I never thought of raising my children as unenjoyable work, but it certainly did not happen by default. Clear as mud, right!?
Bonnie, I would love to hear more of your thoughts on this, when you have time. We are working toward a similar arrangement with my parents and it's a daunting prospect at times.
Hi, Bonnie! It is such a blessing to once again be able to glean tidbits from your wisdom and experience. I have missed you.
Robyn from HAH
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