Little children seem to have a strong sense and sensitivity to the serenity or the lack of it in others. I was reminded of this reality as a young mother of three preschool age children. One night I was in the middle of the Saturday night bath routine – one child in and scrubbed, out and dried, nails clipped, and hair brushed – times three kids. In the middle of this rubber-ducky routine my mom walked in the house. She offered to help dress my oldest little girl Mandy and brush out her blond head feathers while I worked toward bedtime with the other kids.
I continued to rush about and scurried into the family room where my mom was visiting with Mandy and sweetly brushing out her hair. Mandy looked over at me as I entered the room. I’m sure she could sense that I was now ready to move onto the next phase of the day. “Time for all kids to be in bed!” Her response to my passion for putting an end to a very busy day as soon as possible came in the form of a wish. These were the words that came out of her mouth that stopped me in my tracks. “I wish she was the mother,” she said looking up at my mother. At that point my first thought was probably “I wish she was the mother too. I’m exhausted!”
Actually Mandy’s honesty and sensitivity to her peaceful Grandma made me smile. I specifically remember that I did not feel jealous of my mother or discouraged in any way about my own motherhood. I did recognize this humbling truth; “I will never be able to be all things to all my children at all times.” I felt grateful that God sends earthly angles to fill in where my energy and know-how leave off.
That night I wrote out Mandy’s words at the top of a clean white page in my journal, “I wish she was the mother.” Then I thanked the Lord on paper for creating grandmas. You are veterans, seasoned in earthly experience, and now freed from the heaviness of midlife responsibility to share with us the wisdom and love of a lifetime. God bless us all at every age and stage of life to trust His plan for our usefulness.
This post is dedicated to my mother who just celebrated her 78th Birthday. Happy Birthday Mom! I couldn’t be more grateful that you’re “the mother.”
By Nannette W.
Posted Wednesday, February 11, 2009
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