Today marks the last day of the school year for our daughter, which means the last day for us to spend with our 1-year-old grandson Monday-Friday. I never want to forget these moments of taking care of our baby’s baby. The joys are endless, the exhaustion real and the memories forever.
He arrives and walks past the chair I sit in, eyes on me, with a mischievous grin on his face. His eyes never leave me as he starts to make a turn and we cry, “Look out!” He adjusts before hitting the wall and runs on tippy-toe down the hall.
I follow him into the bedroom, as he stops to pick up the wooden rings on the wooden pedestal, dumps them over, places them back on in a non color-coded way, dumps them over again, moving on to the large airplane with the little people seated inside. He pulls them out one by one and throws them as hard as he can. Throwing anything and everything is his favorite pastime and he has quite an arm. The dents in the wall prove his strength.
And he’s off to the office. As he passes a small stuffed lamb, he picks it up and offers a kiss with an “mmmmm-a!” He pulls a few magazines off the rack. Once in a while, he will sit with me as we thumb through the pages, but it is early. He sits crouched on his haunches, looks at one picture and he’s off! I am not as spry or as fast as I once was and by the time I am up, he is in the living room.
Our neighbor boy, Darren, a fifth-grader, loves to play basketball and Gavin loves to watch. On the way to watch “Dao-dao,”he picks up Dewey, “Do,” the stuffed animal kitten he loves. His Papa, “other grandpa” has a cat named Dewey and it makes sense to Gavin that every cat would have the same name. He grabs “Do” by the tail and drags him to the front door. Darren waves, which absolutely delights our little guy.
It lasts for about two minutes and off he runs to the dining room. Somewhere along the way, he and I have created a game around the dining room table, screaming at the top of our lungs at opposite ends until we break into giggles. He won’t play this game with anyone else.
I wonder if it’s close to nap time, check the kitchen clock and it’s been fifteen minutes since mommy left. Phew! Time to tag off with Grandpa. Thank goodness there are two of us.
Gavin loves to chatter. His vocabulary is large for a one-year-old, but most of the time he gabs about nothing, but he believes we understand. We tend to agree with him, “I hear you buddy, know just what you mean,” or” really?”
Throughout the day we will receive hugs and snuggles, some quiet time before naps to read books, and this week, as we sit together on the love seat in the afternoon watching Grandpa mow the lawn, he looks at me and says, “Nana” as if I am just the best thing ever and he hugs me. Oh, the joy! That one moment will never leave me nor will the joy in witnessing his growth in height and weight, in vocabulary and motor skills and in new discoveries. Turning over a new toy each and every way brings chortles of delight.
What a privilege to watch this child grow and to be a part of his life. At this age in our lives, we understand the passing of time and the precious moments to be savored. God delights with us, too. He allows us to discover things on our own, to take a misstep now and again, to fall down and to pick ourselves back up. And God understands our needs and our prayers, even when our words don’t make sense. He intercedes with a nod, just as we do. God works with us a step at a time, protecting us from danger, or walking us through and interceding for us with what we need and not what we want.
In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with wordless groans. And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. Romans 8:26-28
Lord,
What a gift we have in our grandson. We praise You for his life, for his parents and for all those who love him. He has blessed our lives in countless ways in such a short time. How exciting to watch him grow! You feel the same about us, watching our spirits grow under Your loving care. Watch over Gavin and we pray He will love You from an early age.
In Jesus name,
Amen
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