It Takes "Teamwork"!

This morning is one of those Sunday mornings that I find myself reflecting back on life, thinking how many things have changed in it over the years, or at least how much the people in my life have changed. The kids are all grown up and out on their own, many of which have been engaged in the act of producing grandchildren for several years already. I'd have to say that life is pretty good for us at this time, but it took alot of teamwork to make it this way. I remember when I first met Kristy (my wife), about sixteen years ago. We didn't meet in a local church or a community fundraiser dinner, wherein you can pay upwards of five hundred dollars for a plate of food with the proceeds going to some worthy cause like saving the duck-billed platypus. Where we did meet, ironically, was in the beer aisle of the grocery store where she worked, which she later admitted was a planned meeting, rather than by chance, as she knew I happened to visit that particular aisle every night after work. Right away we noticed some very common similarities in each others life situations, by which I mean that she was divorced and raising three young children on her own, whereas I was divorced, and had three young children raising me. After a couple of years of dating each other under strict "Christian values", (by which I mean never going to church with beer on my breath, making it nearly impossible for me to attend such services), we decided to move in together into Kristy's two bedroom house in Smith Center. My oldest, Diana, who was well known for her scholastic skills in virtually every conceivable subject, immediately discovered a problem with the whole "eight-person, two-bedroom" concept, (probably by using some kind of mathematical skills that only truly gifted people attain), and quickly decided to move in with her mother at Beloit. Turns out that it was a tad crowded in that little house, even though Kristy had previously turned the attic space into an upstairs room with her skills in carpentry, staircase and all! Seeing this as a chance to show off my own carpentry skills, I stapled blankets to the bottom side of the truss's, forming several "cubicles" for each child to call their own room. Oddly, I don't believe any of the kids, or even Kristy, was all that impressed with my carpentry skills, but this is the way it was. After a couple of years, Kristy finally goaded me into tearing the front porch off the house and building a new one, which I did by buying a few boards every payday at the local lumber yard, on account of money was pretty tight for us. When it was all finished, it did look pretty good. The next year, we chose it as a place to finally get married, though many of the guests, upon finding out that I built it, would occasionally glance up at it nervously, and tended to be more relaxed if they were off to the outside of it at such a distance as if it fell, they could possibly outrun the debris and dust cloud, and therefore be counted as a first hand witness on the off chance that CNN would show up to cover the story. This is how the kids were raised, though, in a house that was too small, and by two people who didn't have enough money together to buy a package of "Tic-Tacs" after paying the bills each month. It took teamwork to get through these hard times, even though I often look back fondly at them now, but then again, MY bedroom wasn't made out of blankets stapled to the ceiling. Things are much better now for all involved, at least by my way of thinking. The kids are doing very well, and absolutely none of my grand-kids have anything less than a real bedroom with real walls and real sheet-rock to call their own. It's much easier to be a grandparent when you've finally had a chance to make a little money in your life, but it still takes teamwork. For example, last night Kristy's son Nathan and girlfriend Leslie stopped by with Ethan and Paige, our grand-kid's. Grandma had made some delicious homemade cookies, and after having a couple, Paige was given stern warning by her parent's not to have anymore, and they placed the cookie jar way too high for little Paige to reach. This did not discourage her in the least. She immediately asked grandma for the "Bubble-stuff", and lured everyone but grandpa, who was watching college football, out onto the front porch to watch her blow bubbles. Once she had all the people in place (outside), she simply came back in the house to watch football with me, and eat cookies! Paige knows alot about teamwork, plus she knows that grandpa is not only very tall, but also a sucker for her "pouty" look! Ethan uses this same technology to win fishing trips with grandpa when he's here, on the premise that grandpa really shouldn't be allowed to go fishing without proper supervision. This is also the tactic that my son-in-law, Tony, uses when I take grandson Trenton fishing and he wants to go too. I clearly remember a time in my life that I didn't think I needed anybody, and could shoulder life all on my own, and do it my own way. My opinion has changed dramatically over the last few years though. I'm all about teamwork now. Someday maybe I won't be allowed to have any more cookies, and will have to rely on Paige to help me! You never know! Have a great Sunday everyone, and Leslie, if you read this, "C'mon, its only cookies"!