Back From Vermont!

Some random thoughts from our trip up to see our daughter (Ruth), her husband (Todd) and our grand daughter (Sammi, the most intelligent 14 month old on the planet....and cutest too!);

• I've had an opportunity to reconsider my position on snow.................and I still hate it. Yet, in all fairness, I have listed the pros and cons in order to arrive at an objective conclusion. My list forthwith:

Cons:

1. It's cold


2. It's slippery


3. It's cold


4. It blocks roads, driveways and doorways


5. It's cold


6. It turns dirty and ugly after about 15 minutes of laying around


7. It causes people to drive like crazy people, either they move along at 3 MPH or act like they're driving a snowmobile (an oxymoron all on its own)


8. It makes people dress up like the Michelin Man


9. It's cold


10. It tracks into you house...then melts all over the floor!


11. Things freeze if left in it....like toes and fingers


12. Did I mention it was cold?

Pros:

1. *Crickets chirping*


2. There is no #2

So there we have it. Lots of cons.....no pros! A scientific observation providing irrefutable proof that snow is evil and a bane upon mankind.

• We just spent 3 wonderful days with Sammi and didn't take a single photograph of her! W'sup with that?


• Sammi is walking and talking.....well, OK.....she's walking, although I'm pretty sure "Brap! Dat! Bphtttttt!" means "I love Grandpa!"


• Vermont is filled with people from.....well....from Vermont! The only normal people are my family, the people they go to church with and a couple that just moved there from the South. Everyone else is waiting for the mother ship to return with new supplies of sandals, socks and tie dye. The mother ship looks suspiciously like a Subaru.
• Whenever we leave town, we miss our church family and can't wait to get home.

We really did have a great time. Ruth and Todd are wonderful parents and are doing a great job with Sammi. Ruth made a fantastic holiday dinner last night; turkey with all the trimmings. Todd and I helped out by closely monitoring "The 101 Top SNL Skits" while the ladies monitored the turkey. Hey! This is important stuff! Wayne's World was #1. (WHAT ABOUT THE BEES?).

We opened gifts and shared memories. Ruth gave me a card that will be on my desk for a long time. On the front it had a picture of a mans feet and on them stood the feet of a little girl, as if they might be dancing together. Inside, Ruth wrote about the time, when she was 11, that I took her to a Father/Daughter dance. I wore a tux and she wore a brand new dress. We danced to a guy playing a CD player, ate snacks, had our picture taken, I held the door for her and escorted her in and out. I remember the evening vividly. I had a great time but I was never really sure she did. In this card, 12 years later, she wrote, "Being with my Daddy, I felt so pretty. I thought, Gosh! If I could only ever be with one man, I want him to be like and love me like my Dad."

I can't think of a more beautiful or meaningful gift I could have received.

It's such a blessing to see her grown up into a beautiful mother and godly woman. It's such a comfort to see her with a godly man. It's such a wonderful gift of grace to see how God has made something so beautiful out of our mistakes and shortcomings as parents, proof positive that it is only by His hand that anything happens at all. All of His promises are good because He is faithful!