I’m back in my ordinary world today eating breakfast in the swing, pondering on the meaning of life. No little girls flitting around me. Missing them! The birds songs are so pretty in the calm quiet of the morning. No iPad dragon game roars in my yard symphony. The sky is dark blue, framed by white fluffy clouds. The clouds are kissed by the sun’s rays and bleached bright white on the top of their crowns. Nothing ordinary about this beautiful day!

The cardinals are fighting over the bird cake this morning. Guess they learned to squabble from the fighting finches. The birds love the seed cakes. So do the raccoons! Grandpaw has moved on since all his hiding places were cut down and cleaned up.

I just walked to the mailbox barefoot. I looked like I was walking over hot coals. As a young woman I could walk barefoot down our dirt road to my sister-in-law’s house with a baby on my hip. Now I can’t even walk to the mailbox barefoot. Guess that’s another check on the old folks’ list. Road by Shady Oaks six times this week going to cheerleading camp in Franklin. Might should have stopped by and checked out my room reservation. I’m heading in that direction more every day.

Check this out — Walking barefoot, also known as “earthing,” has gone from being a kooky and playful trend, to a scientifically-researched practice with a number of remarkable health advantages, such as increasing antioxidants, reducing inflammation, and improving sleep. — Issac Eliza, M.D.

Guess I’ll keep on walking around without my shoes but that hasn’t helped my sleep pattern or my knee joints. Dropped a pint fruit jar of tea this morning right in front of one of the porch swings. The jar splintered in a million pieces. I’ve swept twice and still see a piece of glass. Won’t be going out shoeless to the porch today.

Got my forest cut from under the oak tree and down the side of the house and driveway. No privacy now. Can see all the way down the street. No more kissing in the swing with my new boyfriend. Don’t want the neighbors to gossip. You know that ain’t true! Chief will always be the only one for me. Did do some porch swing kissing years ago as a teenager and the lady next door called and told my mother! When I grew up the whole town watched over us and we minded any adult who kindly corrected us. Those days are unfortunately gone. It does take a village to raise a child, though.

When I was visiting my grandchildren I took them swimming to their neighborhood pool. One little boy about four years old got so tired of hollering for his mother to watch him jump in the deep end, he actually asked me to watch him. His mother was on the steps of the shallow end watching her phone screen. Guess she forgot there was no lifeguard! I said yes and went into lifeguard mode and watched as he leaped in the water and dog paddled to the ladder grinning like a Cheshire Cat. He walked back down to the shallow end and sat down on the pool steps. She didn’t acknowledge him. She never even noticed he was gone.

Never can enjoy the pool with my grandchildren cause I’m always watching my three grandchildren and all the other children that nobody else is watching. I scolded a bunch of teenage boys to quit running at the pool. They were flying around the slick pool edge. No “yes mam” from them. They just looked at me like I was crazy and ran a few more laps around the edge chasing each other. And I guess it really wasn’t my business cause I wasn’t their mother but they were being irresponsible. I just hated to sit there and wait for somebody to get hurt.

All the children in our communities belong to us and we have a responsibility to support them in any way we can.

“It takes a village to raise a child, and I choose to be an actively-participating member of my village,” — Megan Davis