“A grandchild is God's reward for raising a child.” Bill Cosby

As mentioned in my previous post my wife and I just returned from a quick weekend trip to visit our daughter Stefanie, her husband Matthew, and two of our grandchildren (Michaela, and Lucy). I discovered long ago that three days away from work is about all I can handle. Even when we are away for longer periods I start thinking about what is happening and what problems I will encounter upon my return - so I may as well be back in the stirrups. I also wrote that I would share some of the details of the trip in my next post. Here goes.

We left Montrose, Colorado early on Saturday heading to Denver where we would lunch with our daughter Jennifer, our son Adam, his wife Kara, and three of our grand children (Quincy, Tessa, and Paisley). We did see Jennifer's husband Nick  for a few minutes but he was not able to join us for lunch. Following lunch and enjoying the interaction of three small girls playing together, Adam took us to Denver International Airport for our flight to Nashville.

The flight was delayed about an hour and twenty minutes so we had time to sit and watch the people on the concourse coming and going. I noticed several birds that have made their way inside the terminal where there are plenty of dropped crackers and other treats for them to feast upon. Shelter from the elements with treats, what more could a little songbird ask for? The flight was uneventful.

Upon arrival at Nashville International Airport we were collected by Stefanie and we went and grabbed a late fast food dinner on the way to their home. Matthew and the band he is part of (The Matte Gray Band) were playing at "The Stage on Broadway" in downtown Nashville so he was not at home at that time.

Sunday morning we awakened to our granddaughters excited greeting. Granddaughters are the best. Michaela had been looking forward to our arrival for nearly 3 weeks and was very excited to greet us. It took a little longer for Lucy, who is 17 months old, to warm up to granddad. We enjoyed a quiet morning with Miki sharing some of her artwork with me. She even autographed a drawing for me. She discovered that her name and mine are almost the same and it really surprised her. We went to church where Stefanie sang a duet then we returned home to have lunch with Mitch and Beth. A good visit with them. He seems very happy with life right now and Beth deserves a lot of credit for that.

Sunday evening we attended the Nashville Symphony performance titled "Let Freedom Sing". Kelly Corcoran conducted with the Nashville Symphony Celebration Chorus, the Celebration Youth Chorus both performing. Stefanie sings with the Nashville Symphony Chorus and a few of those members joined the Celebration Chorus for the evening. What a great celebration they performed. Kudos to all the performers and soloists. A very enjoyable evening of music and history. I did not know that Nashville played such a prominent role in the civil rights movement. A very informative evening for me.

Monday we spent the morning and early afternoon at the Frist Museum. My sweetheart has always been a big fan of Norman Rockwell art and the Frist Museum has on loan from the Norman Rockwell Museum a significant amount of his artwork including all of the covers he did for the Saturday Evening Post and several other publications of the era. The history of america as told by a keen observer of the day. His civil rights pieces I have never seen before - they are somewhat disturbing especially if you take the time to read about the events that led to their creation. The history recorded on the cover of the magazines he painted for is significant. I am no art critic, but the display and description were very worth the few hours spent.

I will just mention briefly that I am married to one of the most wonderful women I know. She is game for many things that are surprising to me and has tried to embrace some of the technology of the modern world. I won't tell the stories here but let it be sufficient for me to say that she had a bit of a struggle with her iphone, the computer kiosk at the airport terminal, the camera on her phone, and the list goes on. I will save the specifics for my own late night amusement.

Tuesday home. I wrote of that journey in n earlier post. Let me add just one comment - 5 granddaughters smiling and running and jumping and climbing in 3 days time made for a very memorable trip. I enjoyed all the other things we did while on this adventure. I loved the time spent with those little girls. They have won my heart.

Thanks for checking in. More to come soon. See you then.