Mother Nature and Father Sky are fighting over control of the sky this afternoon. One minute it’s hot and sunny, blue skies, fluffy clouds. Next minute the sun is blocked, clouds are gray with rain and a breeze blows. From the looks of the weather radar I think Mother Nature might win this contest. We just had a downpour and the sun is back out drying up the rain.

I pondered late afternoon in my nieces back porch swing. Had a beautiful view of a long rows of flowering zinnias. Behind the zinnias were the growings of a vegetable garden. The woods behind the house were so pretty after the rain. The green pines and oak trees stretching tall to dry their branches in the sun’s warmth. The hummingbirds were flying around like fighter pilots on training missions, dive bombing each other while quarreling over the feeder.

My nine-year-old granddaughter is back in her home nest tonight in Peachtree City. I bet her brothers missed her. I know Thomas and Ashley did. She’s been visiting me since Sunday and attending cheerleading camp with two of her cousins. They’ve had such a wonderful time together. We laughed so much and ate too many chicken fingers and fries, Oreo and M&M flurries, and frozen strawberry icees. We ate bags of popcorn and cheese puffs and popsicles and mini-muffins and Nutella snacks. Stew and I have loved all these snacks. We played Scrabble, built playing card houses and played Slap Jack, took Penelope for walks, watched a movie every night, and went swimming at baby brother’s house. Our days were full of memory makings. I enjoyed every minute!

Only cooked one meal so that might be a minus on my grandmother report card but we got an A+ in having fun! My grandchildren have a bedroom here with three twin beds and I slept in there with Handley and Penelope. We had an Amber alert one night during her visit…so loud. The alert scared me and Penelope. Penelope fell off the little day bed and I scrambled around trying to turn the phone down so it didn’t wake Handley. She was so tired from having a full day she didn’t even wiggle. Me and P are looking forward to our own beds tonight.

I saw these thoughts on the internet several days ago and I love the advice on how to raise a child to make the ordinary come alive.

Philo Thoughts —

Do not ask your children to strive for extraordinary lives.

Such striving may seem admirable, but it is the way of foolishness.

Help them instead to find the wonder and the marvel of an ordinary life.

Show them the joy of tasting tomatoes, apples and pears.

Show them how to cry when pets and people die.

Show them the infinite pleasure in the touch of a hand.

And make the ordinary come alive for them.

The extraordinary will take care of itself. — William Martin

In my opinion technology is sucking the joy and wonder out of an ordinary childhood. Children are so absorbed in the screens of the games, phones, iPads, lap tops, and tv screens they are missing the beauty of the sunsets, missing out on the art of conversation, missing out on the world going by outside the car window when traveling, missing out on the joys of reading a good book, missing out on bicycle rides, and blackberry pickings.

I applaud parents who have found a balance and limit screen time. My grandchildren have limits on their screen time. I’m proud my children are setting boundaries for my grandchildren and showing them the wonders of life away from technology. They make a conscious effort to enrich their children’s lives.

Technology has made significant improvements in education, research, and healthcare. Technology has improved communications. We all love the convenience of on line banking and shopping. We can easily get groceries without going to the store. I admit, I am addicted to Wally World grocery pick up. But we don’t need to let technology be a babysitter to our children.

Bet you’d be surprised to really know how many hours a day are spent on scrolling through Facebook. Look it up. I’m guilty of that, too. In 2023 teens show an increase in their daily screen time from 7 hours and 22 minutes to 8 hours and 39 minutes. That should be an eye opener for all of us!

“If future generations are to remember us more with gratitude than sorrow, we must achieve more than just the miracles of technology. We must also leave them a glimpse of the world as it was created, not just as it looked when we got through with it.” — Lyndon B. Johnson