Satisfaction
It is a satisfying feeling when one realises their children or grandchildren are growing up to be good people. From those young infants who have not yet learnt there are others in the world, to the seven and eight-year-olds who are happy to share their toys and keep an eye out for those younger than themselves.
I had four of my grandchildren stay on Saturday night and it was a pleasure watching them play, realising that when something was short then turns were needed. And when they were told not to take something outside, they didn’t. it was lovely watching the big sister comfort the baby too.
We all visited the market on Sunday and were standing around after viewing the stalls, when I saw, out of the corner of my eye, Levi and Willow dart off together. Levi’s youngest son, one-year-old Max, had taken a little wander and the pair had run to his rescue. It hadn’t even registered on my radar that he had disappeared, youngsters can be so quick. But I was impressed that seven-year-old Willow had joined in the chase. She is Max’s cousin and could quite easily not have bothered. She doesn’t have siblings so it was even more special, seeing that display of caring.
As parents we do our best. And as grandparents, it is reassuring to see the parents, our children, doing such as great job and instilling the same values in their children as we tried to instil in them and also seeing the youngsters showing natural caring toward one another. Not everything can be taught.
We visited Daniel’s grave yesterday as we were up that way. I had a few quiet words to him, thanking him for being such a wonderful son. Daniel was the king of caring and I talked about that in The Collective Us. He was always looking out for those around him, making sure everyone was okay. It was a trait that was inherent in him. I know it is easy to think the best of people after they are gone, but Daniel really was a lovely person through and through.
And on that note, I must remember to add another thing to my list. Daniel’s death was recorded incorrectly on his tombstone as being 2018, when in fact it was 2017. The mistake has literally been set in stone. Whilst we all know the year he died, those in the future won’t and I would like to see that rectified. The small bit of genealogy I did once my DNA came through, was confusing enough, with many variations on dates of birth or death for the ancestors. In this case, visiting the cemetery, which is usually a good way of verifying something, will not give the accurate information.
Yes, it is definitely time to get that job moving.