It's The Grand Life!
The other day I stopped by the jungle. Sarah and Joe’s once perfectly appointed living room has been transformed into a children’s wonderland complete with oversized dollhouse, bouncy horse, a child-sized, crumb filled table and toys strewn all over the floor. The kids were running and screaming everywhere and in the middle of the floor was Sarah, cross-legged, laughing and relishing the chaos.
I said “Hi,” dropped the homemade apple crisp and bolted.
We met a few weeks later so I could retrieve my baking dish and catch up with adult conversation over coffee. Since I last saw her, Sarah had decided to completely retire from her job of 25+ years to devote more time with the grandchildren. She looked fabulous - in fact, better than she had in years. She actually looked younger, even with less makeup on. After looking at about 20 pictures of the kids doing various crazy or cute things, Sarah leaned back and left out a contented sigh. She’s enjoying, “watching these kids grow and they’re so smart. They have ipads and know how to use them!” (Yeah, wait until they’re teenagers, they know everything - I thought.)
I’m absolutely thrilled for Sarah and Joe. And for Lara and her husband too. My husband and I were fortunate that his parents were around to help with our son when he was young. I can entirely understand the value to Lara to have her parents help and the joy that Sarah is getting from the arrangement. More than that, the grandkids are also huge beneficiaries of additional love, adventures and experiences they’ll never forget.