My son was recently honored by the basketball Final Four as a Guardians of the Game for Leadership. One would think ‘leadership’ would be a noble aspiration for any grandparent.
Reality is more like, “Which way did they go?”
Some of our grandkids are into Marvel movies like Guardians of the Galaxy. The premise for the movie features an adventurer who must unite four misfits against a cosmic threat to destroy this whole galaxy.
That could describe the misfit grandkids of someone I know. I am not pointing fingers or naming names. I plead the fifth.
The Marvel movie Guardians found a higher purpose for their lives and saved the galaxy.
The sequels describe these superheroes as “without a plan, but they get the job done.”
That would perfectly describe my role as a grandparent. No set in stone plan. Always near ice cream.
Grandkids are the best. I will not use this format to make you gag over my prideful exuberance. Just substitute your kids and grandkids into this fable.
We recently had the joy of having our grandkids around for a while. That does not happen enough. It is fun, entertaining, enjoyable, and tiring. This old gray mare??? (I did not think I should use the more appropriate ‘Old gray stud’) just ain’t what it used to be.
I would not trade the precious and memorable moments for anything.
Unlike Babe, I usually do not have a plan; but I am very good at improvisation that somehow saves the day and keeps the time fun.
Our living area serves as a game room, performance arts stage, gymnasium, wrestling mat, track meet, sports complex, construction site, grandkids’ clothing drop-off center, movie theatre, a gathering place for coloring or reading, and command center for the snack bar to stay open.
It has occasionally served as a medical staging area to stop the bleeding before the trip to Urgent Care for stitches.
Somehow, Babe keeps everything neat, operational, and loving. Since the front of the fireplace serves as the main stage for performers and winners, it has been essential that I clear the area of Babe’s decorative pottery displays before the incoming storm.
This protects the kids and the pottery and the blame Bubba for not being a good Guardian. Before the young company arrives, I move the decorative pieces to a safer area in the corner of the piano room. That space is sometimes used as a doll house or staging area for the next air raid.
The décor is usually protected unless one of our wild rock and rolling Jerry Lee Lewis imitators gets on the piano. Imagine Great Balls of Fire with a Whole Lot of Shakin’ Going On.
Chantilly Lace and a pretty face
And a ponytail hangin’ down
A wiggle in her walk and a giggle in her talk
Make the world go ’round
Ain’t nothing in the world like big-eyed grandkids
To make me act so funny, make me spend my money…
Last week, I forgot to move the large red plate and its stand located just left of the fireplace. I noticed a granddaughter leaning up against it as she looked at the family pictures on the shelf behind. At the same time, a bouncing ball and two diving bodies landed near it.
Calling 911 Rescue. I leaped to my feet and quickly salvaged the plate from imminent destruction. It was placed in the safety of the far corner in the adjacent room. It survived the visit just as it had for the previous ten years as each grandchild had his/her opportunities to take it down.
The Guardians of the Galaxy could not have accomplished a better rescue operation. I do feel like a Superhero at times.
After the families were gone and the tears were brushed away, we rested. At least I did until I realized Vicki was cleaning the house. It was time for the Guardian of the Grandmother to step into action.
I pulled out the vacuum cleaner and plugged it in. Vicki said not to do that now. It can wait.
I wanted to help and get everything done so we could both rest and reflect on the good pictures from the time with the grandkids. This was my chance to show how to love first and most. It is not just flowers and candy. Sometimes, it looks like pushing a vacuum cleaner. I did a good job.
As I was putting the vacuum cleaner away, I noticed the large pottery plate. It had survived another Invasion of the Body-Snatchers. This was a good time to get it back to its proper place.
We have a “family truism” that has been passed on to our kids and grandkids:
WHEN WE DISOBEY, ACCIDENTS HAPPEN OR SOMEONE GETS HURT.
There is a reason this saying has survived for subsequent generations. The list is long.
This day, another accident was added to the list.
As I carried the large pottery plate and its stand back to the living area, I bumped a bookcase in the entry way. The impetus started a chain reaction.
Impetus. What a strange word. A powerful force which sets something in motion.
I was hoping this might be a flying saucer. This plate did not fly. It plummeted to the floor like a dive bomber on a kamikaze mission.
In unstoppable slow motion, the plate fell forward and crashed onto the hardwood floor.
Not even a superhero could stop the cosmic damage that exploded my galaxy.
I watched the unstoppable crackup of ceramic pottery bouncing off the wood floor. It went down in one piece and returned upward in several fragments.
The loud crash echoed through the house.
In a nanosecond, I did what my grandkids failed to do in ten years.
Breaking something creates a plethora of thoughts and emotions. Did I do that?
I wished I could fly away. It took every ounce of my manhood not to run for the hills.
When we disobey, accidents happen.
I must disobey a lot. My home was not insured for “Mayhem like this.”
There was no hiding this disaster. There was no way it could be blamed on the grandkids. Trust me. I tried to think of some ways. The grandkids have a bigger storehouse of grace than I do.
The other three matching set pieces stood in motionless mourning for their fallen leader. They were playing Taylor Swift’s song, We are Never Ever Getting Back Together. Never, ever, ever, ever.
My mind was more into the Beatles. Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away. Now I need a place to hide away…
I wish I knew Kintsugi, the Japanese art of putting broken pottery pieces back together with gold. It carries the idea that in embracing flaws and imperfections, you can create an even stronger, more beautiful piece of art. I could only hope that someone close to me would continue to embrace my flaws and imperfections.
I Googled kintsugi. The search suggested I try hari-kari.
I scrambled for a broom and dustpan…and a remote hiding place. Maybe the dog could take the fall for this mishap. She stood there watching with pitiful eyes and wagging her tail. She offered her doghouse for an asylum.
I did not break the law or break the internet. I did not even break the rules. But I felt worse than if I had.
Babe was gracious. Above Bed, Bath, and Beyond gracious. I lived to tell this tale.
SHE ASKED IF I CARRIED THE PLATE AND ITS STAND WITH TWO HANDS.
I can honestly say I never thought about using two hands. Sometimes I struggle to hear.
I recently read the quote:
NO AMOUNT OF REGRET CAN CHANGE THE PAST. NO AMOUNT OF ANXIETY CHANGES THE FUTURE. BUT ANY AMOUNT OF GRATITUDE CHANGES THE PRESENT. (Mark and Angel Chernoff)
I wish it were as easy to drop one’s worries, stress, disappointments, and regrets as it was to drop that pottery plate. The longer you hold them, the heavier they get.
I am grateful for Babe’s grace. She showed me the love first and love most of forgiveness. “It is just a thing.” People are more important than things.
I have too many flaws to be perfect, but far too many blessings to be ungrateful. Every day, I become more and more a Guardian of Gratitude. There are many times I feel as if I am falling apart into little pieces.
Broken. Useless. Trash bound.
God’s grace covers my past regrets and future anxieties. Most importantly, God has a plan to rescue and bless me today. Somehow, God always gets the job done.
“God uses broken clouds to produce rain, broken ground to produce crops, broken grain to produce bread, and broken bread to produce strength” (Vance Havner).
“God does not break things so He can fix them; He fixes broken things so He can use them” to bless other people (Bob Goff).
But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed (2 Corinthians 4:7-9).
You have a Guardian of your soul.
Your life does not have to end up in shattered pieces. God turns those broken pieces into masterpieces. God heals broken hearts, broken dreams, and broken lives. You do not have a broken future.
“The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit” (Psalm 34:18).
God’s grace overflows in your life. I hope you see and sense it. Undeserved forgiveness and unearned goodness. Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow. I hope you express your gratitude for it.
Our Guardian of Grace gives both Pardon and Power.
Pardon from all our selfish “disobedient accidents.”
Power to Love First and Love Most in every relationship.
Wake up misfit. You are a Guardian of God’s Love. You do not have to become a super-hero.
You have been given a higher purpose in life and infused with an overflow of love. Let it flow!
I love being a Guardian of the Grandkids. I also imagine myself as superhero Guardian of their Grandmother Babe. I am just not very great at it…yet. But I never quit trying!
My tombstone will carry the inscription, “Here lies the Guardian of the Grandkids and their Babe…Bless his heart…He meant well.”
EYES UP! LOVE YOU!
LOVE FIRST...LOVE MOST 