Because, she'd said, who do you call when you need a little wisdom, a little more life experience than what's spread out across your own table?
Honestly, I didn't know what to think of that then, but now I'm starting to understand what I'm sure is just bits and pieces of what she meant.
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| Photo courtesy of my sister, Jill. |
It becomes clearer to me now on those days I pick up the phone to dial my mom or grandma or mother in law and upon hearing their inviting greeting I sloppily wring out the dirty water of a messy day's events only for them to offer soft, dry towels of compassion and perspective.
I get it more and more as I watch my father in law pour into his grandsons in only the way a grandfather can, my husband standing close by, almost taking mental notes on how to father from the man who helped raise him into the good man he's become.
It surfaces when I catch the gaze of eyes that have seen so much linger long on our two giggling boys, as if they were the most interesting, lovely sights ever to be seen.
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| Photo courtesy of Erica Lynn Photography |
tightly tangled and connected.
And each year I celebrate another birthday
I seem to take another step back from the brightest, most intricate of tapestries,
breathe in the bigger-picture design of family
and realize that these days of being sandwiched in the middle of it all are absolutely golden.
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You know, the older I get, the more I realize what a blessing this is. My kids still have all four grandparents...so I've been sandwiched for many years. And it matters. I feel incredibly blessed to have lived my adulthood with both thriving children and thriving parents!
ReplyDeleteI love this because I come from a young family (my grandma just turned 70), and I am the oldest of the cousins so the great-grandchildren are just beginning to enter the picture. I spent 30 years at the "kids' table" and to no longer be among the youngest generation in my family was a bittersweet transition. But you're right, these are golden times, and my kids are going to be so blessed to have memories with their great-grandparents.
ReplyDeleteYou have hit the nail on the head. My mom was the last of our parents/in-laws to die. Once she was gone I felt this awesome weight. Suddenly, my husband and I became the elders for our family. We are supposed to be the sages, the ones with well considered wisdom. Oh, my gosh! I remember telling my husband that I feared I was not up to the task because what was truly in my heart was such feeling of loss and a sense of having been orphaned. I don't think he ever really did get what I was feeling, but I think you would have! Thanks for putting it into words so beautifully.
ReplyDeleteMy parents are still pretty young - in their 60's - I had to let go of my last grandparent last year. Hard to do. love your words - golden - so true!
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