Grandparents Day Again

Yesterday morning, Ken and I spent an enjoyable time at De Motte Christian School with four of our grandchildren that attend there. Last year we had five but Alexandra has now moved on to high school. It is that one day each November that grandparents are honored with a program and an opportunity to visit their classrooms. There is no doubt that it is the children that receive the most joy. Obviously, it is always fun for us but those kids are just abuzz with excitement.

We have two in seventh grade so there was big competition for our time in that room. Their science teacher had them doing a project where they made five kinds of goop; silly putty kinds of stuff. Each had a different formula. The young and inexperienced teacher was insistent that they complete the making and analyzing of each kind. I knew from the beginning that they would disappoint him. What do you bet that next year he will plan on doing three types? Sydney got three made and Isaiah only did two as he ran into some problems after we left (likely story). Maybe it was that Sydney had two sets of grandparents to help and Isaiah had only one set.

Mackenna in fifth grade had some kind of electonic game going. There was so much activity in that room that I really never got a good handle on what that was all about. She also had a sheet of questions regarding a grandparent's favorite psalm. That took some thinking and the result probably wasn't as accurate as I would like. Psalm 91 is ONE of my favorite psalms but there are so many. Then we were supposed to come up with a song written about that song. That was a question I would have needed prior to my coming there. Before we left her room, Mac took us in the hall to proudly show us the poem on the wall that she had written for us. It was evident that she knew her grandparents. One chuckles that the characteristics they choose to write about does really reflect who we are.

Then we walked to second grade to visit Ethan. When we arrived his teacher told us he was worried that we were forgetting him. Poor little tyke. His other set of grandparents had gone to him first so I guess there was too much time lapse for comfort. I told him we had saved the best for last. He remembered that statement and made sure he quoted me to his sisters in the car on our way home. Oh dear! His teacher had prepared a dice game to play together and also had a book to read with him that was a conversation between a grandpa and his little grandson. So Grandpa and Ethan read their lines to each other and it was interesting how much the grandfather in the book was like the grandfather sitting next to him.

As I looked at the faces that walked into the assembly yesterday I was struck with how quickly life slips away. Many of those faces bore signs of aging even though I remember those same faces looking much younger. Some of those were classmates of mine fifty years ago at the same school. There were some attendees a generation older than me. They are called GREAT grandparents. I guess we aren't so great yet. I've known the lady that was seated behind me all my life. She is 95 and won the prize for being the oldest and having the most grandchildren at #68. I wonder if she could name all those grandchildren.

It is becoming "tradition" that we go out for lunch after the morning's activities. Mackenna called earlier in the week just to make sure we planned on that part of the day, too. They like Subway so we managed to get there promptly afterward so that we didn't have to wait in line so long. After Subway, it was to MacDonalds for chocolate shakes and then home.