Yes, I know today is Tickle Tuesday. I hate to let you all down, but it's been a bit hectic in our household. If you all remember, this little guy was visiting......



I know, I've used this picture already. But darn it, he is just so darn cute!!!!! Besides, I've been far too busy being Grandma to download the other 300 pictures! If I remember correctly, he had a mouth full of green beans. This kid can eat. Of course I had to introduce him to the finer things in life like mac & cheese, girl scout cookies, etc. Always with mom's permission by the way. I remember what it was like when mine were little and people would feed them stuff they weren't allowed to have.

Well, they left at 5:30 a.m. this morning and let me tell you, the house is this eerie kind of quiet. I'm sure going to miss this little guy! Now I just have big, smelly guys to keep me entertained!

In light of all this baby stuff, I thought I'd leave you with this. Please read it. I'm sure every mom (and dad) will relate to what it says.

Have a great day and hug your babies. They grow up just too dang quick!

WORRY

Is there a magic cutoff period when offspring become accountable for their own actions? Is there a wonderful moment when parents can become detached spectators in the lives of their children and shrug, "It's their life," and feel nothing?

When I was in my twenties, I stood in a hospital corridor waiting for doctors to put a few stitches in my son's head. I asked, "When do you stop worrying?"

The nurse said, "When they get out of the accident stage."

My mother smiled faintly and said nothing.

When I was in my thirties, I sat on a little chair in a classroom and heard how one of my children talked incessantly, disrupted the class, and was headed for
a career making license plates. As if to read my mind, a teacher said, "Don't worry, they all go through this stage and then you can sit back, relax and enjoy them."

My mother just smiled faintly and said nothing.

When I was in my forties, I spent a lifetime waiting for the phone to ring, the cars to come home, the front door to open. A friend said,
"They're trying to find themselves. Don't worry, in a few years, you can stop worrying. They'll be adults."

My mother just smiled faintly and said nothing.

By the time I was 50, I was sick & tired of being vulnerable. I was still worrying over my children, but there was a new wrinkle.
There was nothing I could do about it.

My mother just smiled faintly and said nothing.

I continued to anguish over their failures, be tormented by their frustrations and absorbed in their disappointments.

My friends said that when my kids got married I could stop worrying and lead my own life. I wanted to believe that, but I was
haunted by my mother's warm smile and her occasional, "You look pale. Are you all right?" Call me the minute you get home.
Are you depressed about something?"

Can it be that parents are sentenced to a lifetime of worry? Is concern for one another handed down like a torch to blaze the trail
of human frailties and the fears o f the unknown? Is concern a curse or is it a virtue that elevates us to the highest form of life?

One of my children became quite irritable recently, saying to me, "Where were you? I've been calling for 3 days, and no one answered. I was worried."

I smiled a warm smile. The torch has been passed.