Another cool day, a few rain sprinkles sprinkled around. There are so many birds in the yard, I can hear them with the dishwasher going. The fighting finches chose the feeder outside the lady den windows for their fighting arena this afternoon. They were squabbling loudly. I had to turn up the volume on the tv. Just wonder if all that grumbling gives them indigestion. No other birds eat with them. Songbirds love these rainy damp days, specially the cardinals. Research says birds don’t like rainy days but my little songbirds have been happily perching on the feeders all day.

I’m focused on my grandchildren for the next few days, spending quality time with them, making memories that will be cherished. Their parentals are leaving me in charge of them for a few days. I’m even taking them to school, a first for me. I love to hear them laugh and try not to laugh when a lively brother-sister squabble emerges. I think spending time with our grandchildren keeps generations of the family together.

I’m packing now for the visit. I’m putting the essentials in my suitcase — Whoopi cushions, blackjack cards, poker chips, cards and clothes pins for their bike spokes, bird guides, chewing gum, and mini cokes. The kids will babysit me. I can’t even turn on the tv or the gas stove without the children’s help. They are so sweet and solicitous to me. They get my suitcase out of the car, carry my things downstairs to the guest room, help me safely down the stairs. We’ll build playing card houses and play board games. We’ll have games of Go Fishing and Solitaire around the kitchen table, race a few Mario Brothers Karts around the tv screen. Hope we can play Scrabble, too, it’s my favorite game.

My granddaughter will make brownies and we’ll eat the whole pan at one time. She’ll help me cook, she makes great scramble eggs. She’ll be my sous chef, making sure I cook everything just like her mama does. My grandsons will give me the latest football statics, help me work on my basketball free throws, help me refine my referee skills when a disagreement breaks out. We’ll have popcorn on movie nights and might declare Saturday Pajama Day. And we’ll laugh, we always have lots of laughter on my visits.

Biblical scripture says that grandchildren are blessings from God. Proverbs 17:6 says “Grandchildren are the crown of the aged, and the glory of children is their parents.” God designed grandparents to fill so many different roles — teachers, role models, surrogate parents when needed, mentors, even playmates. But maybe our greatest role is to live a Christian life and become a disciple of God in our relationship with our grandchildren.

Deuteronomy instructs us to teach God’s commandants to our children and their children. Grandparents serve a biblical role in their families with the responsibility of being sure the family’s faith in God is nurtured and passed on to the next generation. The most important thing we can give our children and our grandchildren is unconditional love. The greatest gift we can give our grandchildren is to pass our faith and heritage to them, teaching them about God, sharing our spiritual experiences.

The unconditional love of a grandparent is a beautiful gift. Love your grandchildren, truly listen to them, give them undivided attention, buy them Whoopi cushions, and occasionally sprinkle them with fairy dust. The Bible says grandchildren are the “crown of the aged,” and my crown is heavy with the exquisite gems of my grandchildren.

“We measure the joy of grandchildren in the heart.” — Unknown