THE GRANDDAUGHTER AFFECT

 

It is my granddaughter's 7^th birthday. Life will never be the same.

We had two boys of our own and a foster son. My mom had all boys. It seems the boy thing had gotten out of hand until Lucia was born. We were hoping for a girl. It turns out she is a girly girl, a princess. She loves dressing up, wearing fancy shoes, and dressing up her dolls. Her father plays in a Latin music band, so she knows how to move (cute now but later?). And she can sing!

I was always afraid to be the father of a girl. I wasn’t sure I could raise one very well, but life has a way of giving us lessons and would have provided a necessary lesson if needed.

She doesn’t necessarily cooperate. Rarely laughs at my jokes. She hears the punch line, then slaps her open palm to her head and declares, “Oh, Grandpa!” The rest of the family also has low opinions of my jokes. Where did I go wrong?

Her entry into our lives has truly been a blessing. In many ways, I have become her student. She has helped me loosen up and have fun, even at silly things. She helps me see beauty in simple things, like butterflies and flowers.

Jesus had a lot to say about children. He said we should follow their example. I know Jesus liked children. How many people, who are not fun, attract children? NONE. Jesus must have been a fun guy to have those kids flocking around them.

2 He called a little child to him and placed the child among them. 3 And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 19:2-4, NIV.

He doesn’t want us to be childish, but childlike.

What have you learned from your kids, grandkids? I encourage you to hit “reply” below and add to the discussion. Thanks for listening.

(c) 2022, Wally Johnston

Remember, there are only two kinds of people in this world, those who like Dr. Pepper and those who don’t.”

MR. GRUMPY

I play an imaginary character for my grandkids, Mr. Grumpy. He comes out with these funny translucent eyeglasses and yells, “Hey you snot-nosed kids!’ (Refer to photo).  One of his favorite phrases is, “That makes me really mad!” He reminds me of Mr. Wilson in Dennis the Menace. He’s the neighbor who can’t stand Dennis, on the outside. But deep inside he really cares for him. My kids love Mr. Grumpy, sometimes more than me (well, maybe not). Sometimes, when Mr. Grumpy heads to another room to become Grandpa again, my five-year-old- granddaughter grabs me and says, “No. Don’t go!”

Mr. Grumpy

One day, granddaughter Lucia was talking to me (Grandpa). She said, “You know Grandpa, Mr. Grumpy is grumpy on the outside, but on the inside he really likes kids. He just does that because he doesn’t want anyone to know how nice he really is.” Well said, if I don’t say so myself.  I wonder who she inherited that from?  Any guesses? :)

I wonder what the world would be like if we loved the Mr. Grumpys of the world. We use our exteriors to hide our interiors. Sometimes that is the safe thing to do. Perhaps we’ve conditioned ourselves to rarely show our insides when it would be valuable to us and others if we let them take a peek.  

For most of my life, I’ve hidden behind a facade to survive while I was growing up. It gets really tiring to always keep your guard up. You miss so much, and so do the people around you. You may get misunderstood from time-to-time, but the benefits of disclosure usually outweigh the liabilities.

If we love Mr. Grumpys the world, we will survive the pandemic and any other difficulty that comes our way. So go out there and find a Mr. or Mrs. Grumpy. Look for those good qualities in them. If you don’t, it will “Really make me mad!” 

What Is Your Favorite Season?

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We all have our favorite season. For some, it's baseball season👍.  Oh, that's a different kind of season.  Let's return to our regular program.

I love the Fall.  I grew up in the midwest, so the colors are gorgeous! We once lived in Santa Monica, CA. There wasn't much of a season change. The average temperature was 75 degrees.  During a visit, my father-in-law was by the outside thermometer. "What are you doing?" I asked.  "I'm flipping the thermometer to see if it is broken.  It doesn't move off of 75 degrees."

There have been studies about how we are affected by temperature change related to the seasons and our personalities.  It is pretty interesting.  Click here to read it.

So let's have some fun.  Go here to take a quiz to see which season best suits your personality. When completed, please send a reply as to what you found and what you think about this subject.  Was the quiz accurate?  

We are all waiting for your reply.

(C) 2020 Wally Johnston

There are two kinds of people in this world, those who like Dr. Pepper and those who don't.