One of the happiest habits Pops and I shared the past several years has been “riding the property” in the afternoons. This means, we loaded ourselves in his 20-year-old Chevrolet and drove around the farm, sometimes throwing out fish food at one of the ponds, sometimes sitting on the dock at the big lake and watching the sunset, often just traversing the fields and observing the crops or checking on the timberland. Some of those days, I was in no mood to get out of the house after a long day, but he had reached the point that I didn’t feel completely comfortable with his being away by himself, especially where cell service was spotty. Sometimes we rode our ATV, and that was always fun. In those cases, I was the driver and with the wind swirling in my hair, I felt like a schoolgirl again.
Now things are different, and I realize how much I miss those afternoon sunset rides.
So a few weekends ago, one of our sons came with Harrison, our 17-year-old grandson (the oldest of the 14 grandchildren). On Saturday morning, while Clint visited with his dad, I suggested to Harrison that we take a ride over the farm. We rode in the ATV, laughing at his blue Weimaraner racing beside us. It was so much fun! He was the driver this time, and I got to enjoy his undivided attention and learn from his extensive knowledge of things in nature—like banana spiders . In fact, if he hadn’t pointed out the massive web that stretched across the road, I would have missed the sight of the huge spider and seeing his antics when we annoyed him a bit. (I never knew spiders had personalities!)
The picture below doesn’t show how large this thing was, but suffice it to say I wouldn’t have enjoyed watching him if we hadn’t been a good 15 feet beneath him.
The spider was only one of the highlights of the morning. The real joy was the time I got to enjoy being with our handsome grandson and thinking of the pleasure of being able to share the simple moments, the ordinary days we so easily take for granted. We had a chance to talk a bit about his future plans, although at this point they’re just beginning to form. As we rode by a cotton field, I said, “Just think, Harrison, one day you might get to ride your son around these fields.” He answered, “I was thinking the same thing.”
Moments like this give me hope that maybe our future isn’t so bleak after all. Maybe there will be another day that kids can experience the joys of being free to appreciate the creation we live in and share beautiful memories with their grandparents. Maybe the world isn’t about to end, but if it did, the next stage of life is even better than the present one—much better! Meanwhile, I’ll keep seizing the moments to build a relationship with our grandchildren, to thank the Lord for the opportunities to share moments such as these, to be grateful for the foundation that was laid by their grandfather when he had the chance.
I’ll take this therapy anytime.