That would be my crazy guy. We're spending some time with the grandkids and that's the way we walk the oldest one to school, with the resident clown in a big black puffer coat riding a unicycle alongside our granddaughter while I bring up the rear with her little brother in his light-up R2D2 boots. I love a parade!
If you had asked me 36 years ago to list the characteristics of my ideal spouse, it would not have occurred to me to say, "I want a guy who rides a unicycle a half mile in freezing weather just to entertain his grandkids." But that's what I got, and for that I am thankful.
I'm thankful also for the granddaughter running to keep up with grampa, a sweet and creative girl who loves sparkly things and flowers and books and bikes and unicorns. I'm thankful for her two-year-old brother, who keeps bringing me books to read and then, when he gets tired of carrying them up and down the steps, sits and listens to fresh stories we make up ourselves, about adventures with dinosaurs in a big squishy swamp. I'm thankful for how much he loves his sisters, loves to help his daddy, loves to blow raspberries with Grampa and baby sister in the back seat of the car.
And I'm thankful for that baby sister, the eight-month-old whose smiles light up the room even when she's under the weather, who squeals with delight at Peek-a-Boo and tries with all her might to say "Mmmma-mmma-mmmma." And of course I'm thankful for her mama too, who brings delight into the world with her singing and serving and constant energy, whether she's making curtains or custard pies or family celebrations.
I'm thankful for a son-in-law who knows how to install a new tub, train engineers on new software, or kiss a boo-boo to make it better, and for a son willing to feed the wood-burner while I'm gone, a guy who keeps me fully supplied with silly puns. I'm thankful that my dad is holding steady since my mother's death and finding new ways to be helpful with his church family. I'm thankful for a family that pulls together in difficult times, for a terrific dog who walked beside me for ten blessed years, for friends who know what to say when the pain is beyond words.
For colleagues and students who keep me focused and make me think and smile and laugh I am forever thankful. For a ruby-red car and a water bottle to match, warm scarves and space heaters, dark chocolate and spiced chai and cranberry chutney; for podcasts that enliven long drives and poetry that reaches deeper into my soul with each passing year; for many more wish lists to consult as the family expands and for a good excuse to buy a bunch of kazoos--for all this and more I am thankful.
And for that clown on the unicycle, puffing away in the early-morning chill, laughing with his granddaughter as they move forward into the future--it's nothing I ever asked for, but it's exactly what I need, and for that I am thankful.
1 comment:
A guy who rides a unicycle in freezing weather just to entertain his grandkids? That's pretty much as good as it gets!
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