A Special Night

   Tonight Les and I did something we haven't done in a very long time. We actually sat on the back porch...yes with our Sleepy time tea, and talked for over an hour.  At one point in our life, this was an A1 priority for us.  Sort of like camp Nana and Papa, like the situation room.  
  We've not really had an agenda, for the most part, but usually it started as a re-grouping of what we felt our goals in this life should be, are they the same and should they be? Have we felt we've accomplished any of the things we had purposed to do, and how could we measure any success, and what were the things that didn't work?  
  Our re-grouping sessions have been going on for many years. They use to be done on a weekend away at least once a year, but life can get in the way, even of things that evolved from core values, and some times we discovered our core values had changed.  Those were exhausting weekends.  Then there was the follow through.
  Tonight, for the most part, we came to the conclusion that, NO we had not accomplished most of those goals and the likelihood of it happening now is slim.  So what should we do about those things. Those things being our children and now grandchildren. How could we best guide them and give them guidelines to set their own values and purpose for living life.  Should we now review our own life and prioritize for the future, whatever that might look like. 
  How should we handle our growing older and their growing older as well.  Should we sit back and say "Oh well, we tried", or should we say, "Oh no, we tried and got it all wrong".  Of course we don't believe we got it ALL wrong, we have an awesome group of kids who in many cases learned from what we did rather than what we said.  Isn't that the pits???  I hate it when that happens.  But we feel we have an awesome relationship with them and that is vital to us.
  We had one of the best talks on our own spiritual beliefs, growth, or lack there of, in some cases.  Threw out some challenges for consideration.   It would do no good at this point to say Papa has it all wrong because all the kids think he is the authority, and who knows, he might think so too.  After all, his personality is "being right and knowing he is right".  (that would be choleric(?) and melancholy) The worst possible combination to try to have a productive discussion with, trust me!
  I guess my reason for writing tonight is that I have missed that close give and take with the one with whom I am one.  I want to thank the Father for putting those in our lives who are not our kids only by DNA, but ones who have chosen to attach (and be attached) to this crazy, mixed up, loving, laughing, loyal, sometimes agreeing and sometimes agreeing to disagree, group we call family.  If you are reading this, you know who you are and that we love you beyond any reason. 
Nana