Dear Reader Column 03-29-10

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Dear Reader,

There's a luxury in being a grandparent that I didn't have when I was a parent.

Paul, my three-year-old grandson and I were walking through the woods the other day when I noticed how fascinated he was by a stick. Grandma had planned on a scenic walk, but Paul wanted to stay in one place so he could twirl a stick in the dirt and stab a few leaves. He was quite amused. I couldn't imagine what make-believe story Paul was crafting, because the stick looked so plain and ordinary to me.

Grandparents have time to stop and play with a stick in the dirt. Parents are busy buying groceries, cleaning up the messes that Paul and his one year old brother James continually make, stressing about doctor appointments, getting kids to preschool on time, working jobs, and trying to carve out some time for themselves, so they can be good parents.

My husband and I--we can tag-team when the grandchildren come to visit. So when Paul wants to "wash" dishes for an hour, and James wants to take everything out of Grandma's kitchen cupboard, that's okay. Our time is completely devoted to the boys and we can clean up as we go. Parents don't have that luxury. And they don't always have the luxury of letting Paul stop in the middle of a scenic walk in the woods so he can twirl a stick in the dirt, or lean over a sign marker that's so low to the ground, that my grandson thinks it was put there just for him to play on and pretend.

"Stay on the Trail" the sign says, and Grandma and Grandson do stay on the trail. But isn't it wonderful that grandparents have the time to venture off a trail, building castles, fighting dragons and twirling sticks along the way.

Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.

Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com
http://www.DearReader.com

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Comments

[Cynthia Sherman]

Dear Suzanne,

I tried the link for HTML for the book, Lime Trees Cant Bear Fruit. Nice. I really got a kick out of the look and feel of the page. Thanks! I like this much better than the e-mail version of the book club.