Chasing bubbles

Warm sunshine

A grandson chasing bubbles

in his dinosaur boots

Each day comes bearing its own gifts. 

Untie the ribbons. ~Ruth Ann Schabacker

A little siesta

“Think what a better world it would be if we all, the whole world, had cookies and milk about three o'clock every afternoon and then lay down on our blankets for a nap.”  Robert Fulghum

It's a hot Saturday afternoon and two of my grandsons and my husband are upstairs napping.  I was, too, until one of the dogs came to find me to let me know that he needed to go outside.  

Studies show that a short snooze every day is good for your physical as well mental health, but a nap is a luxury for most of us.   My father, who was healthy and active most of his 89 years, napped almost every afternoon after he retired and often took a short nap after lunch when he was still working.  

But in recent years napping for me has been confined to vacations and an occasional Sunday afternoon.  When the children were small - especially when they were infants - we napped when they did if at all possible - even it was sitting in a chair.  My husband and infant son (the father of the two grandsons napping upstairs today) snoozed away on the porch at the family lake house in the summer of 1979.

Napping with the grandchildren brings back warm and happy memories of those days.  I think I'll go back upstairs and join the nappers now.

Shelter from the storm

It stormed last night - heavy rain, hail, thunder, lightening, and wind.  Inside the snug house we watched a movie that made us laugh (Multiplicity), sheltered and comforted by each other.

This morning the birds are singing, there is a promise of sunshine, and we await the arrival of children and grandchildren who will bring more cheer and laughter, helping us move through these early days of grief.  They will remind us of the promise of new life, as my niece comes bearing a child whose due date is my father's birthday.