The Extremes of Life

Today I experienced the extremes of life. We found out that God has blessed our family with another little granddaughter!!! During Christina’s ultrasound today, the technician put the gender of the child in a sealed envelope. This was then given to a friend who went out and purchased cans of pink silly string and removed the labels.  At the appointed time during her reveal party, everyone sprayed each other with gooey pink stuff indicating that the estrogen levels in the Noe family would one day soar off the charts. With a wife and three daughters, Nate will surely have his work cut out for him.

I am happy beyond words for this new child.  I can’t wait to meet her!  I’m excited to bless her. I’m looking forward to changing her little outfits.  It will be wonderful to hold her as she tries to walk.    Even serving this little child by changing her diapers is an honor for me. I mean that, it isn’t just words.

Gary’s grandmother is one of my most favorite people on the face of this planet.  She took a fall recently and has been struggling ever since.  I’m here taking care of her while Gary’s mom is on vacation.

My days have been filled with the same kind of activities that I do while I watch my grandchildren. Dressing grandma is a lot like dressing a little child.  Trying to get her to move her body in a manner to put on her clothing is challenging. We take a little walk each day – not father than a few hundred feet in front of the house.  I don’t dare let go of her because I’m afraid she will fall.  I have to keep encouraging her.

She asks me the same questions over and over again . If she doesn’t like the answer to the questions, she will challenge me on why things can’t be the way she wants them. Last night at dinner I separated a small portion of turkey on her plate and told her she could have a bite of pie if she ate her meat first. It worked.

We even have little fights over nap time.  The irony is that with my granddaughter it can be challenging to convince her to go to sleep.  With grandma we struggle to keep her awake until naptime.

I’ll snuggle up next to her and listen to her tell me stories. Then I tell her stories. Then she will tell me stories.

It seems like almost every detail of her life can be compared to that of a small child. The joy of being with both my granddaughters and my grandmother is overwhelming. Overflowing.  All consuming.  I treasure every moment.