NO WAY! 

No way!!  They are adults!  Adults?  When did this happen?  They should still want me to read to them.  They should be playing with the Roly Poly Bear.  They should be sound asleep, with their head resting on my shoulder.

 No.  I am not talking about my kids.  I am talking about my grandkids, ages 19 to 28.  No more stories to be read.  No more Roly Poly Bear.  No more sleeping with their head on my shoulder.  Six babies that are all grown up, employed, taller than me, and four of the six are involved in serious relationships.  What happens when adult grandchildren came to celebrate changes in their lives?  What happens is that the parents and grandparents sit back and listen as they start to tell stories.

 

They had been warned to prepare a story.  And tell stories they did!  The funny part is that they told everyone’s favorite stories.  Kailyn played hide and seek without telling anyone.  Matthew talked about the goats.  Joshua told how texting can cause confusion.  Nathan told how older cousins convinced him the mints were poison.  The story of Noah blaming his brother (who happened to be in China at the time) for getting the toys out so he didn’t have to pick them up is a classic.  Poor Timothy, the youngest, took the blunt of having stories told about him, but he told about how eating angel food cake caused him to get a broken leg.

Stacia seems to scream if she and Nathan wake up at the same time and are staring at each other.  Megan is temporarily staying at her brother’s apartment and was surprised to find the sink was not attached to the drain.  Bridgette explained how a red marker in the hands of a three year old boy could increase the sales of Mr. Clean Magic Erasers.

I am having a round of sciatica and was amazed Sunday.  The grandkids knew we would have stuff for sandwiches, chips, and homemade ice cream.  They knew they were to provide everything else.  And those babies walked in the door with food!  They also jumped into action when it was time to set stuff outside and when it was time to clean up.  And, miracle of miracles, they did not have to be told to put their phones away.  They enjoyed each other.  They listened to each other.  They laughed and told story after story after story.  Then those babies got into cars and went home.  And my heart was filled to overflowing.

Every family has their stories.  The ones that make us smile the minute we hear, “Do you remember?”  Too often today, instead of telling stories, everyone is looking at their phone.  It is also hard to get everyone in the same place, at the same time.  We need to keep making the effort.

Children.. grandchildren.. great-grandchildren.. do not stay young.  They do not stay babies.  They turn into adults.  I do not know what stage of life you are in, but I have a suggestion.  Enjoy your children as adults.  Enjoy your grandchildren as adults.  Sit back and watch them laugh and share and tell the same stories over and over and over.  Allow them to be adults and bring food.  Allow them to be adults and join in the joy of serving each other.  Too often, especially the women want to take care of everything and tell them, ‘No, I will do that.  You go sit down.”  The problem is they are no longer children to be taken care of.  They are adults.

I am thankful we celebrated and it was wonderful to see the adults each grandchild has become.  But I really do miss reading them a story or playing with that Roly Poly Bear or holding them close.

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I wonder if God looks at me and thinks, "She turned out to be a pretty good adult.  BUT she is still my little girl and I hold her close in my heart."