Things have been a little hectic in our family, as of late. My eldest son’s wife, our sweet Cherrie, is recovering from a recent surgery. She actually had two surgeries; one was to correct a problem, and the next one was needed to correct a complication from the first. Needless to say, with a precocious 4-year-old and a husband who works overseas, times like this one can be challenging.

My baby brother, Max, has also had surgery within the last week. He is recuperating at home, and though I wouldn’t exactly say he is a difficult assignment, I know he gets a little antsy when he can’t ramble around the country getting into something or other on his days off. My sister-in-law, Mimi, darling that she is, has taken very good care of our reluctant patient.

Thankfully, things seem to be looking up and settling back into a normal routine for us all. Understandably, with so much additional activity going on, our schedules got off kilter a bit. Once more, Mike and I sat down and plugged things into our schedule that we deem too important to overlook. We started the new school year by planning our weekly play date with our little grandson, Gauge. Considering his and our busy schedules, it was decided that Sunday after church would be our new funday.

Some days are so filled with work and other necessary obligations that the important things that memories are made of are practically choked out, going the way of the wind. If we aren’t careful, days can slip into weeks before we realize a change is in order. But on those occasions when we consciously decide to stop everything and make time for those very important people and activities that bring such joy, it never fails to ground and balance our lives.

After church, our little chatterbox piled into his car seat talking a mile a minute. As we chatted about everything from his new preschool teacher to a scary dream that had awakened him in the night, our bright red car headed toward the Gulf Coast and our lunch destination. Bacchus on the Beach at Pass Christian did not disappoint. Our lovely view of the marina enhanced our dining experience, and we vowed to return soon.

Once a teacher, always a teacher, I suppose. Not surprisingly a learning experience presented itself as we strolled back to the car in the bright, warm sunshine with seagulls squawking overhead. Stopping at the street I enquired, “Gauge, what do you do here?” His head bobbed first one way and then the other with sparkling little eyes searching intently for cars.

“That’s great! What do you do next?” Pop and I gave him a little hint by extending our hands out to his.

“Well, then you hold a grownup’s hand. But if you’re a grownup you don’t have to hold someone’s hand to cross the street.” Gauge’s little eyes looked upward, and he spoke with wisdom well beyond his four short years. “You know, Gigi, it’s nice to have someone’s hand to hold, even if you are a grownup.”

Jan Penton Miller can be reached at lilsisjan@yahoo.com.