My Life is Changing

In the last few months there have been several "bends in the road" in my life. My mother left earth and was escorted by a band of angels to Heaven. I miss her. It's a sad, lonely feeling to have no mother to go to. Then my oldest son was married. He married a wonderful girl and they are very happy, but the day he packed up everything and left for his own new home marked the end of an era in my life. And now, bless my heart, eleven months after their wedding they've made me a grandma.
It seems only a few years ago I was a young mother living in a mobile home, happily married. My oldest four children were then from newborn to age seven. I certainly enjoyed these years when they were little, yet at the time there were occasions when I thought I could never handle it :) We didn't even have a television; didn't want one. And a computer? Were they invented yet?:) In 1989 I doubt we'd ever heard of a cell phone.
Now twenty years later, my oldest four are grown. Three of them are still at home, thank God, as well as the younger two. They still love God, church,and momma and daddy. Sunday dinners are a delight at our house with all the children, daughter-in-law, Zachary's girlfriend, and now grandbaby. There aren't enough seats for everyone, but the floor has always worked fine. I usually serve at least eleven for Sunday dinner. Well, actually Avonlea doesn't eat my cooking yet, but her precious momma feeds her a God-blessed "meal".
Yes, my life is changing--instead of my old green '83 station wagon with kids looking out of every window, I ride around in a blue '98 mini-van that seats seven but usually has no more than three occupants. Instead of searching for a pay phone to call the grandma and see if the kids are okay, I just reply to the text messages they send to ask where I'm at.:) Instead of newborn to age seven, their ages range from nine to twenty-six. We do have a television now but we have no channels. You see, we haven't cable and don't want it. We have a converter box but we unhooked it. We choose what we want to watch and we choose carefully. We're partial to "Sheffey", "Anne of Green Gables", and "Old Yeller". Once in a while we pull out an old John Wayne western or war picture, but we thank God for the T.V. Guardian on our vcr that deletes all the foul language. Yes, we have a computer and more recently, even the internet. We also thank God for cleaninter.net. The filter that reminds us to guard our eyes and "set no wicked thing" before them.
We used to eat Sunday dinners at my mother's or Ty's mother's. Now I enjoy the laughter and playful banter of my four girls in the kitchen as we rush to do the final preparations to our Sunday meal. This past Sunday Zachary even blessed us with a little guitar music. We all take our turns holding Avonlea and believe me it's a lot of turns! Juston tells of how many times Avonlea awakened last night and Paige swears she smiles at her. Whitney takes more pictures and Autumn insists on an early turn with Avonlea because she (Autumn) needs to go take a nap. Autumn is justified since she gets up through the week at 4:30! Zachary sits and looks proud (and thankful) that he has such a sweet and beautiful girlfriend. (And one that loves God and hates evil this proud mother will add). We beg Rachel to play her mandolin along with Zachary on guitar, but she refuses today. Jess leaps around like a happy deer and when she does sit it's usually near her big brother, Juston. Avonlea sleeps, nurses, sleeps, and dreams of being home away from these aunts and grandparents who keep passing her from one to the other. But before she can go home she must wait while her mom has a thirty minute romp on the trampoline with Juston and Jessica. Being pregnant for nine months, Paige has missed being able to jump!!:)
Yes, indeed my life is changing... I am growing to look like my momma, or so I've been told, and act like her as well, so my daughters tell me! I am enjoying this phase of life just as I did the ones before it. God is so good! I am so blessed. As our pastor would say, "Bless the Lord, O my soul and all that is within me, bless His holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul and forget not all His benefits."

Mother of six, mother-in-law of one, grandma of one, and oh yes, I am the mother of that good-looking, muscled guy with the really pretty girlfriend...:)