A photo of my high school graduation. Standing next to my grandparents was special for me on this day as my grandfather had been both a principal and a teacher at this high school before his retirement.
At least once a year The Good Doctor takes all of the kids to the beach for two days so I can have some alone time. This came as a brilliant revelation on his part. After many years of encouraging, pleading, prodding, and yes, some bribing, he gave up on the prospect of having me go away on some type of solitude-finding retreat. (Am I the only one who can see that going away with a bunch of people does not promote solitude?) So, this weekend was it.
As time marches on, my weekend of solitude has instead become a weekend of older child conversation vs. the typical range of children. Since The Good Doctor can't take off on Sundays, he has to go away for a Friday - Saturday which means the older kids can't miss school. So I get to share my time with them. They also have too many activities that they can't or won't miss so that contributes to their time at home.
Regardless of addition of the teen conversation, I can still spread out all the scrapbooking supplies and go at it. The teens are on their own for meals; just don't mess with the mess on the dining room table.
Unfortunately my scrapbooking these days is pretty much limited to these once-a-year festivities. This means that I am extremely far behind. I do have a goal of having each child caught up by the time he or she leaves the house; I think this means I have at least a few more years to catch up for some and many more years to catch up for others.
This time Jesse was the child of the weekend. I wouldn't admit how far back I am except that I noticed something as I was working. Trying to get Jesse out of 2008, I happened to scrapbook the pages for my grandmother's funeral bulletin and the family gatherings that occurred around that event. I realized that it was 4 years ago that she died.
Her death wasn't totally unexpected as she had been having some breathing problems and trouble with fluid in her lungs. Several of her family members were able to be with her as she struggled in the nursing home.
I have very special memories of this quiet and humble woman. To me, her covering represented much about who she was and I am so thankful that my aunt was able to find two of my grandmother's coverings even after she thought she had thrown them all away (it's a good thing my grandmother never threw anything away). I now have those two coverings in a prominent location in my house and they are a great conversation piece.
4 Generations - My grandmother, my father, me, and Andrew, Easter 1995
So today, 4 years later, I remember and I celebrate a life lived to the glory of God. I am so thankful for a godly heritage and all that my grandmother taught and passed down to her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. What a blessing!
Four of our children with my grandmother, Christmas 2007, just two months before her death
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