Friday, May 23, 2008

Happy Birthday Lyn.


Happy Birthday to Lyn! My first grandchild, Lyn - is married to her high school sweetheart, is now the mother of two daughters and a son and is a dedicated school teacher . She and her husband and chidren have recently moved to our town . So it is good to get to be with her and her husband and their beautiful children more often
I wrote the post below a couple of years ago about a book she gave me and post it again on her birthday. She is outstanding, not just to her grandmother but to all who know her.
THE RELATIVES CAME:
Our large extended family (numbering more than 50 now) has celebrated Christmas together on December 26 for over 20 years. This allows for individual family or “other family” gatherings on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
My precious granddaughter Lyn is a thoughtful gift buyer. Among other gifts, she gave me a book entitled The Relatives Came by Cynthia Rylant. I have read and looked at the pictures…twice! It is a book she reads to her students every year, she tells me. The book reminds her (and me) of all the “hugging, eating and breathing” of our “big, loving, supportive and fun-loving” family.

It may have been a book I needed to read. I was tired and considering whether or not the party was worth all the cooking, cleaning and emotion involved in such a large family celebration.

Was it worth it to my children and grandchildren who drove across the state and some across several states to get here?

Clearly, it is a great ocassion for all the young children (age 6 to 13) who take turns being Santa Claus and handing out gifts. It seem to be "worth any trouble" to the little children who love to play together with siblings and cousins on the lawn or in the "children's bed room" in the house here.

2 comments:

Carol said...

That's a great book - Cynthia Rylant is one of my favorite children's books authors. I'll have to start sending you more children's books - some of them are among the best literature available.

I know what you mean about wondering if all the cooking and cleaning and decorating is worth it. I wonder that myself.

Anonymous said...

I guess we all wonder if our seemingly unnoticed effort is worth it. I often remind myself that people become who they are as a result of all their life esperiences -- and I want to provide as many possitive life experiences as possible for the children I love. They may not consciously remember the experiences, but their effect will be evidenced anyway. I believe, and hope, that is true.

I always enjoy Cynthia Rylant books, too.