Monday 18, January 2021

What I am hearing...the Mancala pieces rattling while Nate sets up our morning game. I hear the sounds of the dogs snoring while they try to catch a few more minutes of sleep before the little people are up and about. A new and comforting sound has been added to my day since moving down here to the south land.  There is a male cardinal that apparently nests near the house. Each morning we are serenaded by him calling to his mate. It is a beautiful replacement for the city sounds that I used to wake to. 

Outside my window...everything is covered with a heavy frost. Saturday it snowed all day though never managed to accumulate. Yesterday there were flakes in the air off and on and this morning there is a fog which has frozen onto every surface. I am liking the insipid snowfall that Tennessee enjoys and the frozen fog is just enough like a light dusting to get the beauty without all the trouble that large accumulations bring.

What I am thinking...differences. I have always been a fairly adaptable person. Every vehicle I have ever driven was never quite right for my stature and every home I have ever lived in hasn’t been my dream home but I have managed to make it work. Now living in my son’s home I am learning to live within the boundaries of others.  It is an adjustment indeed to remember that I am not in charge, instead a member of the support staff. I often think about the 70’s TV show, The Waltons. I am certainly not quite as acerbic as Grandma Walton but the kids here seem to enjoy having me around.

What I am learning...oh so many things. I have learned how to play three new games, Mancala, Pandemic, and Dead of Winter. I am learning that my math skills, as slim as they are, are badly in need of polishing. I am learning that the best medicine in the house is an 8 month old baby. I’m learning patience is something that you decide to have not something that you can acquire. I am learning that love for a grandchild transcends all other loves. I am learning, like Dorothy Gale, that there is no place like home but that home is not a place but a people.

What I am hoping...that Uncle has a safe trip home today, that the citizens of this country wake up to find that the hate and polarization that has reigned lately is wrong. I am hoping that the citizenry of this great land wake up to realize the love and blessing that God showers on us each day.

What I am working on...relearning my craft. My son has such great faith in my lost abilities that he has purchased dress lengths of fabric for me to make dresses for Kim, Annie, and Kaycie. The colors are back in my head and I long for the days when I can get lost in the creation of beautiful things.

What I am planning...nothing yet. Each day my plan is to make it to the end and the time for sleep. Beyond that I see no reason to plan for more. I will bask in the love and noise that is grandchildren and cover my world with prayer for healing.

Here is a picture thought that I am sharing with you...yesterday, being my birthday, there was much frivolity and learning going on.

For Christmas Annie and Kaycie received an MEL Science subscription. Yesterday’s experiment had to do with tin. They used electrolysis to make a tin matrix grow in a Petrie dish.

In honor of the day Nate blessed us with one of his best outfits. There is so much love and sweetness in this boy.

The whole family played an incredibly competitive game of Qirkle. Annie won but it was close.

MK made a delicious dessert and being rated R for required it was gladly consumed with barely a serving left for Uncle when he gets home.

 Teddy became acquainted with Baby Yoda this week. Thank you Uncle Tom and Aunt ReNee’! You were right, Tom, the ear was the first thing he took hold of and into the mouth it went straightaway.