Parents and Grandparents

The parents are coming to visit. Jacob is always excited to see his "Mommaw and Poppaw." Of course like any grandchild he knows that once they are on the premises he gets away with murder. Grandparents amaze me. As parents everything was a no, do your homework, go clean your room and you (missy) are grounded, but as grandparents everything is yes, he can do it later, he's just a kid and don't be so uptight (missy). I suppose that's why grandparents are so much fun.

I was always crazy about my maternal grandparents. My grandmother actually had a beer joint/dance hall/boarding house and during the day it was so much fun to explore. At night all of us grandkids were sent to the living quarters and not allowed downstairs, but we always found a way to spy on the adults. Eventually my grandmother gave up the business and my mother cared for her during her later years. She died on my 32nd birthday. Her name was Daisy. My grandfather was a coal miner and a pretty strict man with everyone except me. I'll bet all of his grandchildren would say the same thing about him. He died when I was 10 and I remember my mother was heartbroken. I remember my father picking my mother up and carrying her to their room. I remember standing in the doorway and watching my father hold my mother as she sobbed and whispering softly in her ear words that were only for her. What love. I never knew my paternal grandparents. My paternal grandfather, Jecco, came from Bulgaria to the US in 1914 and won my grandmother, who was a Cherokee Indian, in a poker game. Jecco spoke nine languages, but English was not one of them. My father says this is where my gypsy spirit comes from. My need to explore and travel and my ability to pick up and move on a dime. I wish I had had the opportunity to meet them both. What characters they must've been.

I am so thankful that my children have had the oppotunities to know their grandparents. I am especially thankful that my own parents are still with me and that they are godly parents. Every time I hear my father pray, even if it's only the blessing before a meal, I realize I am blessed.

So, I'm looking forward to a good weekend filled with family fun, lots of laughter and a generous helping of love and of course, the usual family drama!