When Children Become Parents

It's been an eventful September for us--David came up, Jenna, Jon and the kids came down and Tony, Marie, Coleton and Tyson just left.  Tomorrow, Chris, Shannon and Emma will be in for a few days.  I love the activity and seeing how each child has grown.  And, the parents too...

I can't tell you how odd it is to watch your children parent their children.  At each visit, Tony and I did the typical, "let us know if you need anything.....are you hungry.....should I wash that....send us a text when you get there," and I know that's part of parents being parents--but it's amazing to see what wonderful parents our children are and will be. 

I think the key is the teamwork we saw.  Each couple worked together on baby/child chores.  Each parent took responsibility for bath time and all of the things associated with it.  Each parent did diaper duty and they enjoyed everything they did for their child/children.   Each parent is involved with their child's life and well being, not just the mother, as it was when Tony and I were young. 

Ever since Ben was born, I have looked at Jenna's baby pictures identifying features associated with "sides of the family."  It's fun now, to do the same thing with Tony, as we look at pictures of Coleton and see so much of Tony (Jr) in him, although, I have said from the beginning that I saw Marie in his face too.

I have always said that we have THE most beautiful grandchildren in the world--and it's true.  From Ben to Coleton, each one is special, beautiful and lucky to have the kind of parents that they have. 

We had a great visit...look at how much Coleton has grown.

Enjoying some Daddy and Me time.

 

 

And Grandpa and Me time...

 

 

"Geez, am I cute"

 

 

"Even when I'm really serious, I'm cute!"

 

Enjoying some Einstein Time!

 

"Pondering my future..."

 

Waiting for the football game....

 

 

"Mommy makes me laugh!"

 

"Daddy's being goofy!"

 

"Mommy, Daddy, please let me stay with Grandma and Grandpa or I'll cry...."

 

And our photo gallery wouldn't be complete without a picture of Tyson chasing his frisbee!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Sadness of Silence

Shawshank Redemption has always been one of our favorite movies.   For those of you who don't know the story, Andy and Red, two prison inmates, spend years together behind bars sharing the long empty days together.  Each of them comes to rely on the strength of the other just to get through each day.

And then one day, Andy escapes.   Red says something to the effect that you really don't know how important something or someone is to you until you don't have it anymore and that makes the place where you are all the more dark.

Our house isn't exactly dark, but it sure is quiet.  Jenna, Jon and the kids left this morning.  I got my last 8:00 wake up call with kids jumping on  me as I slept.   I wasn't feeling very well, so I went back to bed after they left.  I layed there waiting for sleep to come back to me and all I could hear was silence. 

I watched Jenna and Jon pack up the car and laughed as Sammy broke into song, singing a Veggie Tale song about not going to Boston in the fall.   I listened to Jon talk to Ben and Sam, not in "little people" language, but in grown up terms just like Tony used to do.   They know what Velcro is and NASA.  Home schooled or not, these children will have a breadth of knowledge that I believe will surpass many of their peers.    I was often amazed with the people I interacted with in the business world who didn't know what I considered to be very basic information.   My sense is that their parents didn't talk to them--they just raised them.  That's unfortunate for both the parents and the children.

I'm watching Tony take down the air mattress in the "boys" room (that used to be my office!) and pack up the chair and other things loaned to us by good neighbors.  The sadness of silence is heavy in the house because yesterday, it was full of laughter. 

I often tease Ben about not getting any older.  I tell him that I want him to go back to being 2 where I could pick him up and cuddle him.  Ben isn't have any of that.  He gleefully tells me that soon he will be 7 and and 8 and then 9 and he will count all the way to 17 or 18.    This morning we had that conversation and I told him that made me sad, because when he was that big, he wouldn't want to come and visit Papa and Mo Mo anymore because he would think we were boring.  "What's boring," he asked in that cute little voice.   "Boring," I said, "means that you won't think we are fun anymore and won't want to come and see us."

"Oh no," Ben said, shaking his head back and forth, "I will never think that....my Papa is always fun."  

And so we go back to our routine--me on the job boards and Tony making the house and yard beautiful.  But every once in a while, we catch ourselves hearing the silence broken by far away sounds of the kids talking and laughing. 

I am so glad we got to see them.

Fun With the Purdum's

It's been around eight months since I have seen Jenna, Jon and the kids so I am delighted that they came down to visit us.

I remember writing in earlier blogs about how much laughter there is in our house when Ben and Sam were over....well double that!!  Ellie is a little doll and Zach is Mr. Personality.  I can't believe how big Ben and Sam have gotten and how good they are.  Sam can count to 30 (he's still 3!!) and Ben still laughs at Papa's silly jokes. 

I think the quiet that will ensue after they leave will be hard to deal with.   I get a regular 8:00 a.m. wake up with Ben and Sam coming in and jumping on the bed asking me why I am wasting the day by still being in bed.  After that, Ellie comes in and makes her "Ellie talk" and points to things in the bedroom.  She, too, seems to be asking why I am still in bed.   And then it's on to breakfast...."I want strawberry pop tart, no chocolate, no strawberry...."   "Where's my chocolate milk?"   "Mommy, Ellie dropped her banana..."      "Let's go to the pool...I can swim in circles...." 

I will miss them terribly when they leave.  

Behold, my beautiful babies....all 6 of them!!