Sometimes you just have to laugh!

"Laughter is an instant vacation." Milton Berle

A few months ago I was visiting the home of one of our daughters. They have two children we'll call one of them Mo and the other Mara. I had driven to their family home in Orem, Utah for a short visit as I had a job interview arranged with a company nearby. Upon my arrival at their home I knocked on the door and Mo came down the stairs and unlocked the door to let me in. I followed her into the house and was standing on the landing at the bottom of the stairs as she was telling her Mother and sister who was at the door. She stepped back around the corner from the kitchen, looked at me and said, "Why didn't you bring Grandma?" This story makes me smile every time I think of it. It made me smile that afternoon as well. And her Mom chuckled as she invited me to join them in the kitchen.

I don't often spend time around my grandchildren without Grandma along for the ride.

Victor Borge is quoted as saying, "Laughter is the closest distance between two people."

He makes a good point.

Later that same day I had returned to their home from the interview and was sitting at the kitchen counter with Mara next to me when our daughter said that she needed to run to the store to get a few things and wondered if we all wanted to ride along? Mara immediately said "No! I will stay here with granddad." Lisa asked Mara if she was sure about that. Mara replied that yes, she would stay home with granddad. Lisa looked at me and I said sure we can stay here just the two of us. Lisa continued to prepare to go to the store. Alex arrived home just a minute or two later and joined us in the kitchen. He was warmly received by his family and we had a brief conversation about the plan for the evening. Lisa then mentioned that she and Mo had to make a quick trip to the store. and Mara immediately said, "Dad you go to the store! I'm staying home with granddad."

We were all amused. They went to the store and Mara and granddad stayed home. We laughed together, we colored, and finally we read a book together. A connection made between her old granddad and her three year old self.

Fast forward to last weekend. The Guzman family (Alex, Lisa, Monroe, and Mara) decided to make a visit to Montrose. They arrived Friday evening and settled in fairly quickly. Those granddaughters played for an hour or so before retiring to bed. The feeling in the house changed immediately upon their arrival. The laughter and energy of young children is joyful. I had not known that they were coming to visit until just a few hours prior to arrival but so glad they came.

Saturday afternoon Mara was running from the play area that Grandma has arranged for them, heading toward the bedroom where their things were kept. She was intent on her destination and I had just walked out of the kitchen and saw her running. I paused until she was almost at the turn to the hallway. I squatted and gave a little rrraarr at her.... and, without missing a step, she leaped into the air, her legs churning (think Wiley Coyote) landed back on the floor and continued down the hallway. No squeal, no shriek, no slowing down. Lisa saw this and laughed out loud (so did I).

Our grandchildren learn humor from their parents just like those parents learned from Cindy (grandma) and me.

"Among those whom I like or admire, I can find no common denominator, but among those whom I love, I can: all of them make me laugh." (W.H. Auden)

No grand thought here today. Just hadn't posted anything in quite some time.

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