Out of the Mouths of Babes

Being grandparents, my wife and I like to have special dates from time to time with our grandchildren. A couple of weeks ago, as we had a busy Saturday planned preparing for the upcoming summer garden pre-planting seeds in our greenhouse and doing other odd jobs on our 5 acre property. We decided to have our 7 year old granddaughter join us the night before and make a weekend of it. Opportunities like this, give us a chance to teach our grandchildren the importance of work, play, and our love for them. Friday night was spent watching age appropriate movies, our granddaughter picking each title under our supervision, and outlasting our ability to stay awake. As you know, it is our privilege to violate any parental bedtime, especially given the weekend. We tucked our precious gift in bed that night after the last show and went to bed. The next morning, I was awakened by my sleep number bed moving into a "V" shape. Thinking I was sleeping on the remote, as I have done in the past, I scurried to find the magical box without avail. Jumping out of bed thinking it must have been knocked on the floor during the search, I was met with a little girls giggling behind the footboard of the bed. My granddaughter had snuck in, snatched the remote and decided to wake me up in her own little way while grandma was making breakfast. I was amused.
The real lesson came later that day though while arranging new shelves we had purchased in grandma’s greenhouse. My wife had purchased four sets of shelves, and together the three of us put them together to place the soon to be planted seeds on. My wife began to place the shelf units in a "L" configuration around a corner in the greenhouse. My reaction was immediate and managerial--as a business owner, I am use to having an opinion, and having it followed. I "suggested" that the shelf units be placed against one wall in a row. It was more efficient and looked more organized. As my suggestion was not met with open arms, a discussion commenced, my granddaughter, out of sight, out of mind, listening in the background. No less than a minute into this discussion, I hear this little female voice say: "Bumpa" (Our familiar name for grandpa), you have your "Man Cave" , (my workshop) and grandma doesn’t tell you how to do things in it, this is her Greenhouse, shouldn’t she be able to put the shelves however she wants?" Needless to say, my jaw dropped open, almost as much as my mind, as I knew she was right, and the shelf discussion was over. Not just over, but overwhelmed with a sense of joy and gratitude that I too at 54 years old could still learn from a 7 year old.
Needless to say, although the day was full of chores and hard work, ending with a B-B-Q joined by the rest of the family members that evening, continued, deep, family bonds and love were established that day. As I reflected back that night I chuckled to myself how it is such a good thing that family members, old and young can learn so much from each other, and that the quest for knowledge should be multi-generational- and how blessed we are when we make the effort to make it happen.