Ernie’s World has been quiet for awhile. That is because I have been very busy or just don’t have much to say. That was until I just got done spending 3 days with my grandson! What a joy that was. He is about 15 months old and I had not seen him since around late October. They sure grow fast at this stage in their young lives! His parents dropped him off and went on a fishing trip.
Back in October he was quite clumsy as he was learning to walk, now he is a fast little fellow. Since most of the “work” falls on grandma, that leaves the ‘fun’ up to me. Only those who have grandchildren can understand how much joy it is too look into those eyes and realize that this person is your 2nd generation offspring. Then see the pure excitement about life and learning there is in the young ones, something that we older folks have forgotten about.
I am sure all grandparents feel the same about their grandchildren. But this is the first for us and the first “boy” descendent that I have. In my mind that makes it even more special. We have two daughters who have brought great joy and excitement to our lives. A boy is a different critter altogether. Grandma said that while I was plowing snow, the young fellow watched the tractor with awe and did not want to leave the window as long as I was in sight. He likes machines, tools and anything that looks like it is mechanical. Girls have their own charm, but to watch a young boy study everything in sight, to see how it is put together is something I never noticed either of my girls doing.
We had a small plastic sliding board set up in the house for him to play on. On one side there was a plastic cap that was lose from a bolt, he worked time and again at trying to get that thing to go over the bolt head where he was certain it was suppose to be, but being broke it would not stay, but I don’t know at the times I saw him working at that thing, as if he was determined to fix it.
Yea, there is nothing like a grandchild to perk up ones interest in small children. Every small child has a grandparent somewhere who thinks the world of them, at least I hope they do. I know where there is one little fellow who does.
One more thing. How should I explain this so as not to overstate the case? We all know toddlers can be “notional”, even when it makes no sense. But the little fellow sure made grandpa feel “special” when we went to meet his parents to take him back home. I got him out of his car seat and took him to his mother. The little bugger pulled away from his ma and clung to my neck! After not seeing her for 3 days! How funny is that? Even knowing it was just the ‘notion’ of the moment made grandpa feel good. J
Showing posts with label grandchildren. Show all posts
Showing posts with label grandchildren. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Surprises
I assume most children are no different than my 11 year old daughter about now. Only 5 days till Christmas and she is about to “bust”! At least I hope most children have that anticipation, no matter how small the surprise may be, for a child, it is enough to have the excitement, just knowing they are going to receive some gift of which they have no ideal what it will be.
Personally, and I also assume most people my age have a similar attitude. I feel like I have had “enough surprises” in my lifetime. I say that with a smile in that most of the real ‘surprises’ we get as adults on not in the form of a ‘gift wrapped” package.
This Christmas season we have been pleasantly surprised with MN weather. It is on the tongue and thoughts of everyone. Today it reached almost 40 degrees here in the center of the state. I looked at the 10 day forecast (MSN internet) and nothing much is to change over the next week. Everyday had a 0% chance of precipitation. That is fine by me, I am still rooting for a “Brown Christmas”, to the discuss of many women and children. Give me a break is all I say, I have lived here 24 years and it will be a first, if we see the ground bare on Christmas day. Parts of the state do have snow, but where we are, we are experiencing a “winter drought”, rare, but welcome.
Here is why I think I will pass on “surprises”. In the year 2000 we received the biggest surprise of our lifetimes, speaking of me and my wife. You see, we were 43 years old. Our “only child” had grown up and left home in ‘97. Three years of freedom from raising a child really did me no harm, that I could see. Then in March of 2000 my wife informed me that she would need a “pregnancy test”, that was her mild way of trying to break the “news” to me. I tell you, some things in life are hard to accept as a possible reality, I assumed that was “impossible”. As history proves, my assumption was as wrong as it could be. No matter if I live to be a hundred, I will not receive a bigger surprise than that was!
My friends enjoyed the news far more than I did, at first anyway. A child is the next most precious thing to “grand-children”, no mistake. But it does take some time to adjust to the “ideal”, at least when you thought it could not happen. It took me until she was every bit of 1 minute old, to “adjust”, then everything was alright in my world.
Our tradition is to open gifts on Christmas Eve, that gives parents the ‘possibility’, of not being rudely aroused from bed at 4 AM on Christmas morning. This year, Christmas morning falls on Sunday. Since we are a church attending family, it will make Sunday morning a lot easier than if we had a gift opening ceremony before breakfast.
Speaking of which, and I don’t want to spoil the holidays with politics, but me being “me” I can’t let “one opinion” pass. Every Christmas over the last few years we are barraged with missiles from the “militant atheist” crowd, as if the very sight of a ‘nativity scene”, in some way “harms their fragile atheist faith”.
There is a irony in Christmas. There are some Christian churches who also are ‘anti-Christmas’, but on different grounds from the atheists. The ‘anti-Christmas’ Christians say, since Jesus was probably not born on Dec. 25, people should not celebrate his “birthday”. They point to lots of other arguments too, which I don’t have time or patience to ramble on about and I am sure, my readers don’t have the time nor patience to read it, even if I did. But here is the irony. In spite of all anti-Christmas and anti-Christ movements throughout history, come next Sunday, all over the world and most especially since the “internet” has now gone to nearly every corner on earth, people will “have to” acknowledge that Jesus Christ lives in the faith of millions of people. On that one day, in all developed countries and in the world generally, the thought of “Jesus” enters peoples mind, whether they consciously like it or not.
My conclusion on the matter is this. It does not matter how or when Christmas came to be celebrated by so many people on earth, the lesson we ought to lean is this, say and believe what you will, but, JESUS ALWAYS WINS!
Personally, and I also assume most people my age have a similar attitude. I feel like I have had “enough surprises” in my lifetime. I say that with a smile in that most of the real ‘surprises’ we get as adults on not in the form of a ‘gift wrapped” package.
This Christmas season we have been pleasantly surprised with MN weather. It is on the tongue and thoughts of everyone. Today it reached almost 40 degrees here in the center of the state. I looked at the 10 day forecast (MSN internet) and nothing much is to change over the next week. Everyday had a 0% chance of precipitation. That is fine by me, I am still rooting for a “Brown Christmas”, to the discuss of many women and children. Give me a break is all I say, I have lived here 24 years and it will be a first, if we see the ground bare on Christmas day. Parts of the state do have snow, but where we are, we are experiencing a “winter drought”, rare, but welcome.
Here is why I think I will pass on “surprises”. In the year 2000 we received the biggest surprise of our lifetimes, speaking of me and my wife. You see, we were 43 years old. Our “only child” had grown up and left home in ‘97. Three years of freedom from raising a child really did me no harm, that I could see. Then in March of 2000 my wife informed me that she would need a “pregnancy test”, that was her mild way of trying to break the “news” to me. I tell you, some things in life are hard to accept as a possible reality, I assumed that was “impossible”. As history proves, my assumption was as wrong as it could be. No matter if I live to be a hundred, I will not receive a bigger surprise than that was!
My friends enjoyed the news far more than I did, at first anyway. A child is the next most precious thing to “grand-children”, no mistake. But it does take some time to adjust to the “ideal”, at least when you thought it could not happen. It took me until she was every bit of 1 minute old, to “adjust”, then everything was alright in my world.
Our tradition is to open gifts on Christmas Eve, that gives parents the ‘possibility’, of not being rudely aroused from bed at 4 AM on Christmas morning. This year, Christmas morning falls on Sunday. Since we are a church attending family, it will make Sunday morning a lot easier than if we had a gift opening ceremony before breakfast.
Speaking of which, and I don’t want to spoil the holidays with politics, but me being “me” I can’t let “one opinion” pass. Every Christmas over the last few years we are barraged with missiles from the “militant atheist” crowd, as if the very sight of a ‘nativity scene”, in some way “harms their fragile atheist faith”.
There is a irony in Christmas. There are some Christian churches who also are ‘anti-Christmas’, but on different grounds from the atheists. The ‘anti-Christmas’ Christians say, since Jesus was probably not born on Dec. 25, people should not celebrate his “birthday”. They point to lots of other arguments too, which I don’t have time or patience to ramble on about and I am sure, my readers don’t have the time nor patience to read it, even if I did. But here is the irony. In spite of all anti-Christmas and anti-Christ movements throughout history, come next Sunday, all over the world and most especially since the “internet” has now gone to nearly every corner on earth, people will “have to” acknowledge that Jesus Christ lives in the faith of millions of people. On that one day, in all developed countries and in the world generally, the thought of “Jesus” enters peoples mind, whether they consciously like it or not.
My conclusion on the matter is this. It does not matter how or when Christmas came to be celebrated by so many people on earth, the lesson we ought to lean is this, say and believe what you will, but, JESUS ALWAYS WINS!
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