I'll Get Around to It

Each night I go to sleep, I look at two pieces of artwork sitting on the wall next to my bed. Pictures painted by their hands. The last school year pictures that I have of them from two years ago sit in the frame with the pictures. A small lamb that my sister sent when the babies were born sits in between the paintings. The pictures my granddaughters left behind remind me of the last day I was with them and the love we have for one another.

  

My daughter-in-law asked if we could wash the windows. About 30 inches from the floor all of the glass in the back doors and French doors have dirty smears. Oddly enough, the smears are about the height of Millie's (the Airedale) nose. I look at them and am filled with love for this big lummox of a dog. I'm reminded of my past pets and another big dog named Odie. They are indeed the remnants of loving pets....of loved pets.

Sometimes I come home from babysitting the twins. With occasional spit up, I come home smelling a bit of baby burp accompanied by a discolored shoulder. No matter where I put the burp cloth, the babies seem to miss it when the time comes. Honestly, I smile every time I take off the offended shirt remembering the feel of my grandchildren's heads on my shoulder. A grandma's cheek resting on the tiny head of the grandbabies are memories I will cherish forever. I can feel each of my grandchildren's downy heads by just closing my eyes.

I remember how Mom refused to dust away tiny fingerprints and smudges on furniture and on windows after a family visit ended. Her children lived far away. Visits home were few and far between. "I'll get around to it," she would say. She loved those reminders of the days of her grandchildren in the house.

Sometimes my chores get set aside when I am asked to spend the day with a grandchild. Sometimes I sit for awhile after they visit and cherish each of those moments with them. A small email from a granddaughter is truly a gift from the gods for me. Those remnants of time spent with our grandchildren are so priceless that none of us could afford to pay for them. And we get them for free. Give me time with my grandchildren. As to the rest of my life....I'll get around to it.