I have been blessed as a grandmother to live in the same town as my daughter's family for most of my one and only grandchild's life. It is my delight to get to spend a lot of time with her, to see her grow from a newborn to a lovely young lady of fourteen.
When Megan was five or six years old, we developed the custom of her spending Friday night and Saturday with us. It was a special time. On Saturday mornings she would sit at the dining table with her Grandpa Jerry and drink coffee with him (hers being, of course, milk with a little coffee flavoring). They had good talks about many things. He adored her and delighted in the time they spent together. When we lost him, Megan was just 7 1/2 years old. Although she continued to spend Friday nights with me, she could never again sleep alone in the room that was hers before Jerry died. She slept in the big bed with me and we were a comfort to each other.
Although she could not have known it, those weekends Megan spent with me were an important element in helping me keep it together after my husband's death. A child can bring joy into life even in the midst of grieving.
Since then I have sold my house, built an addition to my daughter and son-in-law's house, and so live so close to them that I see them all often throughout the week. But weekends are still Megan's time. On Friday nights we usually have pizza and put in a movie DVD. After the movie we often read aloud, taking turns reading now that she is an accomplished reader herself. In the winter we usually have a jigsaw puzzle going. In the summer we may go for a walk or sit out on the deck with books. And we talk.
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| Megan sitting at the puzzle table and reading aloud to me. |
Of late, Megan's weekends have expanded a bit and she spends Friday and Saturday nights with me. I was afraid that as she became a teenager she would lose interest in spending time with Grandma. She is, after all, a busy young woman. Besides her regular school schedule she has band events, quilt club, volunteering at the public library, spending time with friends, and helping her mother with her cleaning business three evenings a week. In addition she and I have started a Bible study together.
I love this child and I love that she still wants to spend time with her Grandma!
