Pondering Pleasures of Paradise

Maybe I already made it to heaven right here on earth,
With cheerful cherubs surrounding me as I lay upon my berth.
My guardian angel pays my bills and holds me in his arms;
He keeps me feeling content and safe from facing any harm.

The sea and sky so still, they could be walked across.
We could get to eternity, as they touch each other, of course.
There's an angel cleaning out the leaves that have fallen in the pool,
And another snipping off the vines with which the palm trees are full.

Flowers everywhere are in bloom that I didn't have to plant,
Though a cutting garden would be nice, this I will gladly grant.
This is not meant as complaining; it's just an observation.
I'm really very happy not trying to control creation.

My favorite neighbor family to watch will soon appear at the pool.
This oasis in the sub tropical clime is the best way to stay cool.
Mama, grandma, little girl, baby boy, all splashing happily
It is nice to have no responsibility, and yet I share their glee.

Is it a valid purpose, simply singing songs of gratitude?
Are some of us meant simply to be, and not do any good?
I seem to be surrounded by so many more competent that I;
Is my only job to express joy for the world I see passing by?

What to Do

Today, I decided to rise from my bed,
Before my darling thought I was dead.
I made him a sandwich to take for lunch
He's been missing this, I had a hunch.

I'll send out my thanks to all my sitters,
Letting them know I'm not a quitter.
I have enjoyed being lazy, it is true,
But there are many things that I can do.

I've been contacted by a new editor;
I can, once again, publish, I'm sure.
It's time to get my brain back in gear
If we don't use it, we lose it, I hear.

I still can't exercise, but they don't mean my brain;
It's the more physical forms from which I have to refrain.
For writers and readers, the library 's a resource,
And all of it's paid for by our taxes, of course.

While I have free time, and no binding employment
I may become a volunteer and seem heaven sent.
There are probably many for whom I could cook
I'll begin this week on an effort to look.

I would probably prefer to rock sick little babies,
But when I inquired, I was looked at like I'm crazy.
I could teach pre-teens and teens how to cook,
But they would probably give me "the look."

For now, I'll only seek opportunities
Where the people I help will be pleased.
This way, the situation is always win-win,
But I am rather tired of beginning again.

Watching and Sharing Wisdom

I have often said that we don't know whether we've succeeded in parenting
Until we observe the parenting skills of our grown offspring.
What has happened to the elders? Many want to be eternally young.
I am proud of my grandparenting, though the glories may never be sung.

Their are many lessons that can only be learned by living every day,
Because every child is unique in so many different ways.
I've never liked the know-it-all grandparents who have nothing to learn;
We like to support and learn from the young parents as they take their turns.

We do like to pass on survival skills because we want our grandchildren to be
From the tyranny of those who pretend to know it all, forever be free.
We stay at the ready to step in when we are called to teach or assist,
But we believe that help is only welcomed when we allow ourselves to be missed.

I also have never gotten used to grandparents who buy and buy;
It seems to me that this creates children who won't even want to try.
I share my time listening and also teach them things I know,
Like how to make lasagna and put on their own talent show.

I don't think we can be too careful with the family that we choose;
I have only a friend or two who, I think, share my basic values.
These are the people I like to ask about their home rituals and rules,
And add their wisdom to the experiences we use as our grandparenting tools.

My nephew and his wife are expecting a baby, my sister's first grandchild;
I have been anticipating this event for more than a little while.
I don't know that my sister and I can ever see eye-to-eye,
But a relationship based on shared wisdom, I would at least like to try.

Time spent watching her son parent while she dotes on the new little boy
Is something that, I think, would bring us great amounts of joy.
I have heard so many stories of the Cajun fais-do-do
A community dance where even the youngest children were invited to go.

I suspect that there was much drinking, but probably only by the men,
As the women folk were expected to, all the children's needs, attend.
I'd like to have a version of this concept that is g-rated,
Were everyone shares in the joy and laughter that is, by the children, created.

There are many things to which children don't need to be exposed;
The adults who want to show how cool they are create many family woes.
The parents, aunts, uncles, and grandparents should keep a watchful eye
To make sure the children aren't being led astray by those who may try.

I think that it would be wonderful to watch the new generation of women and men
Sharing parenting responsibilities and truly being partners and friends.
The old folks could sit and wait for a baby to be tired out and need a lap,
Or for a teen to need some boundaries or knowledge that they naturally lack.

My youngest grandchild is a pre-teen, my oldest getting ready for college.
When I was having babies, my friends were acquiring knowledge.
Sometimes it just gets lonely being a granny by myself;
It is nice when I get to share this part of me with someone else.

Lending Out Our Largess

It gives us great pleasure to be sharing our mountain home,
Even though the visiting couple is visiting our home alone.
We are busy with our alternative lives down south,
So we can't sit and visit with them on our own couch.
They are young and enjoy the natural life,
Free from the city's congestion and strife.
They also can avoid their home's greater heat;
Summer in the mountains is a wonderful treat.

I often fantasize about forming a community
Where we would all share the best of what we've come to be.
In the summer we could teach children survival,
Without all the electronics that their real lives should rival.
It has been so lonely to have all this largess,
And to have no young folks, with our resources, to bless.
Nothing would please us more than the creation
Of a place we could teach the strengths that built our nation.

Our Girls Are Gone

My girls are gone, and I'm so sad,
But what they left has kept me glad:
Because of asparagus mixed with crab sauce;
Fried pasta hasn't seemed like a loss.

Susan and Mark came by to partake
In what me family had a stake:
R's red beans on rice or in a cup;
There are many ways we have to sup.

B and S's great stir fry,
So good it makes me want to cry.
Now, we're on our own, to my distress;
I only hope we won't digress.

Busting a Gut with Giggles

I may yet drive my daughter over the edge. She's quite a competent school teacher, and has little tolerance for foolishness. She was even serious as a baby, deep in thought at all times.

The day started off with one of those circular arguments between my daughter and me that only happens in families who are committed to loving each other even when they aren't feeling much affection for each other. When my grandaughter arrived by boat, we switched over to taking walks and board games.

All my life I waited to be a granny so that I could share my most foolish side with a bunch of giggling grandkids. I can only do this on my own turf because at the homes of others, I get the children in trouble with their parents. But in my house, it's my rules, so we have a grand old time grinning and goofing off.

S has always attempted to adjust the rules of all our games as we play them because she bores easily and loves to yank my chain. I insist that we follow the rules to make it fair to everyone involved. We played Rummikub and then taught ourselves a game, UpWords, with which none of us is familiar. By the end of the game, S had gotten so silly that I was threatening to hang her by a bungee cord from the second story balcony, and dip her into the pool below.

R and her daughter then went in search of the wonderful concoction that we call Sno Balls which are a cross between a slushy and the sno cones seen at school fairs. Here, in South Louisiana, they are an art form. The best sno ball stands shave the ice just like wet snow, pack it down as if they were building a snowball fort, and slather the "sno" with any number of secret recipe sweet sauces that one requests. R and S came back with pina colada for R, root beer for S, and black cherry for me and Richard. We waxed poetic and reminisced about the sno balls and sno ball stands of previous summers at the lake.

While my daughter started fixing supper for her invalid mom, our granddaughter, S, decided that we need to come up with a focus for all my free time in my old age. When I inquired as to what skills she thinks I possess that I should pursue, she said that I'm good at talking. To prove her point, she used the video recorder that she had figured out for me and asked me to give impassioned speeches on any topics that came into my head. By the time her mama made her stop the camera, she was almost in stitches with giggling, and I probably busted a few of mine.

Sailing Through Surgery Recovery

I'm going to have to be helpless more often. I'm getting visits from so many people I love. E (my friend since she sat next to me in Sister Dominic Savio's honors English class when we were both fourteen), my son, and his wife kept Richard company while I was in surgery; then E stayed at the hospital until mid-afternoon to entertain me after I was awake.

On my first day home, my next-door neighbor, L, at my childhood home from the time I was six, brought her two dogs and a basket of fresh fruit, along with all sorts of provisions. L and I talked of life's lessons learned, and I taught her to play Rummikub before Richard came home to make one of his marvelous salads to go with the chicken chowder that I had prepared before my surgery. She stayed the night, and we all played Scrabble. She and I are now planning a run on the beach with her dogs when I'm released for exercise.

L vacuumed her way out, and G, who was my next-door neighbor when we both had babies, came in. We spent a great time together discussing our favorite spiritual topics, napping, and playing some more Scrabble. Scrabble and soul searching, what a comforting combination!

The following morning dawned with the joy of knowing that my daughter and her younger daughter, S, were going to be my sitters. I knew that my daughter could cook, but little did I know that her thirteen-year-old was picking up the mantle of kitchen queen. We've been treated to stuffed peppers, two varieties of home-baked cookies, and a stupendous sausage soup.

Food for the body, soul and mind was brought by these two beauties. My granddaughter loaded photos onto my new digital frame that I had received as a birthday gift and figured out for me how to use my new video camera. She challenged me to a game of Scrabble, and entertained me while I watched her dance with her Wii. She and her mom also graciously spent several hours reclining with me and chatting.

Yesterday, the bed was rocking with three of our grandkids rollicking as they kept me company. My thirteen-year-old grandson, N, was so sweet to lie next to me and regal me with tales of his lacrosse camp and other summer activities. His ten-year-old sister, M, snuggled with me, which is still one of her favorite things to do with her Granny. My daughter-in-law and S joined us on the bed for a game of Yahtzee before the bed started bouncing with activity. About that time, my son arrived to whisk them all away.

Today, we took it easy. Richard puttered around doing domestic duties for me, and my daughter and her daughter came back to spend some relaxing time. I had my first post-surgery walk with my daughter before we returned to my bed for a great game of Rummikub.

Throughout all this, Richard has played several games of Scrabble with me, run errands, brought home frozen confections, kept me company over endless hours of murder and mayhem on TV, and been an all-round good host and sport. And I have a beautiful view of the harbor from both my bedroom and living room. Surgery doesn't seem so bad when done this way.