Our middle great-grandson turned five last week. He’s three-and-a-half feet of pure love. I raised girls. I didn’t have a clue what to do with boys till this one came along. He’s tender-hearted, artistic, and into Sonic the Hedgehog. He loves pizza and blue frosting on his cupcakes. He is Papaw’s boy, for sure. But when he sees me, he runs over and melts into me like a puddle of butter. He strokes my hair and lays his ear against my chest to hear my heartbeat. And best of all, he doesn’t squirm away from me when he’s done. He seems to understand I need to hug him just a few seconds longer and waits patiently till I let him go. When he climbs down off my lap, he turns to me with all that innocence and says, “I yuv you, GiGi.” Soft and quiet, like it’s our little secret. I could eat him up with a spoon!

We can learn a lot from our great-grandchildren. They are our last chance to get it right. They don’t see a single ugly thing in the world. They know nothing about the dark things that jump out at us adults in the crevices of our minds. They aren’t anticipating worryful things like when the life we know starts spinning out of control. All they know is to love because they are not so far from the Source.

I read a piece yesterday by Garrison Keillor of Lake Wobegon fame. The gist of the story was how he plans to live the next four years. He pointed out he doesn’t check his blood pressure every day. Nor does he check the balance of his IRA or the WNBA standings or the air quality index. So why should he stay glued to a social media feed or the so-called news to map out every move everyone is making? Then reading the commentary of folks who should know better but don’t because they weren’t taught the gentle art of critical thinking? He plans to read the news he trusts, digesting what he needs to know to be an informed citizen. Other than that, he’s going to do things like crossword puzzles and leave the rest of the lunacy alone.

I get it. This is going to be a heck of a ride we’re about to embark on. Why make it hard on ourselves and chase every story down when most of it is a smokescreen anyway? I will stay informed, but I’m not going to obsess over every little thing or it will make me crazy. I’m reminded of the wonderful psychiatrist who pulled my fat out of the fire when my world tilted in 2000. My twenty-one year marriage was dying on the vine and all I could do was watch. I obsessed over everything my ex was saying to me, trying to figure out how I could “fix” this…even though there wasn’t any “this” to fix. I thought, if I had a diagnosis or a self-help book that could make me understand what was “wrong” with me, I could make it all ok again. This wonderfully insightful physician looked at me for a long moment and said, “You know, Ginny…sometimes you have to just go out there and live your life.”

Wow…deep.

He was absolutely right, you know. I couldn’t “make” anyone do anything…no matter how much I wanted them to or how much I prayed for reconciliation. I just needed to turn away and live my life. For my kids. And for me. There’s too much information out there. When did the world think we needed to know what the weather is in Bangladesh or Nairobi or Reykjavik at any given moment? I don’t need to read some dumb headline like, “Florida Man Arrested for Pooping on Opossum in Public”. (Seriously, that is a real headline!) Let me just live my life, plant my light on a hill, and do the best I can. That’s all I ask. I didn’t live all these years to die from stress. I can guarantee I will NOT be laying on my death bed and say, “Gosh, I just wish I would have spent more time worrying about what others do.”

It was John Godfrey Saxe, an American poet, who said, “Laws, like sausages, cease to inspire respect in proportion as we know how they are made.” In other words, “Laws are like sausages, it is better not to see them being made.” Find a news source you trust to be the most honest and who tells it like it is, and turn off all that noise. Contrary to the opinions of some, that is NOT putting your head in the sand. Consider your health and well-being a valuable commodity. Where do you want to spend it? We only have an infinite number of days on this go ‘round. Why don’t you be a little more like Bubby and go bowling on your birthday…with Sonic the Hedgehog. And eat a blue cupcake!

❄️🩵❄️

“My son, do not lose sight of these— keep sound wisdom and discretion,”
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭3‬:‭21‬ ‭ESV‬‬

#sanity #mentalhealth #currentevents #children #wisdom