Top Ten Comments from the First Year | by Linda Brendle

I published my first post on this blog a year ago today. In thinking about how to mark the day, I thought about doing something like what I did when I hit 10,000 all-time view,  reviewing the numbers and stats, but I really wanted to do something with more meaning.

Senior Humor – Edition 7 | by Linda Brendle

It’s been a long week. Friends in Florida battled Tropical Storm Debbie, friends in Colorado fought wild fires, I went to the doctor with something like Pink Eye, and David went to the dentist with an abscessed tooth. Time for another look at the lighter side of life.

More Photos of Grandpa and Kyle | by Linda Brendle

When I finished my post about my brother Jim and his grandson, I sent it to him for permission to publish something so personal. I also told him I had the recent picture I used at the end of the story, but I asked for a picture or pictures of the two of them when Kyle was younger.  What was I thinking? Of course, I got fishing pictures. It’s what he does. Why didn’t I ask the photographer in the family, Jim’s wife Jo Lynn? After exchanging a couple of e-mails with her, she sent me the photos I’m posting here. My intention was to edit the original post and add or substitute a photo or two, but these are too beautiful take a chance that someone might miss them because they’ve already read the story. So here are three more pictures of my brother and his grandson, a real life love story.

Grandpa and His Nerd | by Linda Brendle

My older brother, the Reverend Doctor Jim Robinson, is a very special man. Through the 65 years I’ve been his little sister, he’s been my friend, my rival, my tormenter, my hero, and when I came to the end of my caregiver’s rope, he was my rescuer. When I finally picked up the phone and said I can’t do this anymore, he picked up the reins and stepped in as Mom and Dad’s primary caregiver. It’s not an unfamiliar role for him. As a minister, he’s cared for the needs of various churches for over 50 years; and 15 years ago, he became one of the caregivers for his special grandson Kyle.

Pray Hard | by Linda Brendle

One day last week I was reading one of the blogs I follow and saw a word cloud based on Romans 12. One particular phrase jumped out at me: “Pray hard.” This is a phrase that I’ve seen and heard quite a bit, especially over the last few years, and it’s always raised questions in my mind. What exactly does it mean to pray hard? Being the deep theologian that I am, it evokes images of a 5 year old in the toy department, his tiny fists clinched, his face red with tense emotion as he implores his father.

Mattias Reads “The Reindeer Who Had Fear to Fly”

Chapter 2 of the family story book was written, illustrated, and read by 8-year-old Mattias. He is so creative and serious. He reminds me of Alistair Cooke introducing Masterpiece Theater.

Baby Zoe reads “Olivia Helps With Christmas” (Video)

For the last several years, my son and his family have tried to do something creative for Christmas. Two years ago they recorded a CD of Christmas music starring Mattias who was 6 years old at the time with Christian and Amy as backup. Last year they made a movie starring the entire family. This year they decided on a four-chapter family storybook. The first chapter is my 2-year-old granddaughter reading “Olivia helps With Christmas.” It’s only fair to warn you that this is so cute it will make your teeth hurt.

A Child’s View of God

This post is a little bit of a departure for me. You can blame my grandchildren for that. Last month we spent a few days in Colorado, first staying with the kids while Christian and Amy had a little adult time in Las Vegas, and later spending some quality time with the whole family.

Zoe is almost three and is in the process of learning to control her bodily functions and to control her parents with her performance or lack of performance. She is also learning to set boundaries

You Might Be a Grandma If…

Spending time with my grandkids hasn’t left much time for thinking serious thoughts about caregiving and life in general. Here’s where my thoughts have been centered this week.

You might be a grandma if:

Getting Old Is Not For Sissies

Christian recently blogged about the agonies of turning 40, and being the understanding mother that I am, I commented that getting old is not for sissies. David and I had an up close and personal experience with that yesterday.