“Grandchildren are
God’s reward for
not killing your kids.” 
Tony Campolo

A barbecue on the first Saturday in February? Why not? Despite the cool air and dark sky, it was an opportunity for us to gather our family together before the big storm arrives. Another one of those “atmospheric rivers” is headed our way and predicted to arrive tonight. Local weather reporters have been warning us that we should expect to be pummeled through the night, throughout all of tomorrow, and into Monday. So today was a good day to gather for some family fun and a great meal.

Kathy did the bulk of the shopping early this morning. Tom, Steve, and Brendan took care of grilling the burgers and hotdogs. Steve’s wife, Morgan, and Tom’s wife, Hillaray, organized the food table for the feast. I got to play with the grandkids!

Today was the first time all five of our grandkids were together. Liam and Emily had not yet met Henry, who was born in mid-January. While Henry is not yet able to keep up with his siblings and cousins, he was certainly well cared for by them. It won’t be long before he’ll be chasing them all around.

Author Janet Lanese wrote, “Grandchildren are loving reminders of what we’re really here for.” What a powerful statement for grandparents. We’ve done our job of raising our kids. We’ve completed our careers and now have time to be available for the grandkids. In my younger years, I had this mistaken belief that retirement was all about cruises around the world and playing shuffleboard or bocce ball with friends. Fortunately, this has not been my experience at all, and I am grateful for this. Spending time with the little ones is an absolute delight.

I once heard someone say that if he had known that grandchildren were this much fun, he would have had them first! Sadly, that’s not an option for us. I think Tony Campolo, the American sociologist I quoted at the top of this post, has the right idea. Grandkids are God’s reward. For what? I don’t exactly know. To be blessed with little ones with so much unconditional love to give is not something I deserve because of anything I’ve done — or anything I didn’t do! It is pure gift. No strings attached. How could I not be grateful?

Kathy and I have been blessed with five beautiful grandkids. I wouldn’t change them for the world. What I would do if I could, however, is change the world for them. With all the technological innovations that have been introduced in the past fifty years, products designed to make life easier for us, it seems that the world is far more complicated today than ever before. I worry about what the world will be like for these little ones as they get older. 

I have to remind myself that parents and grandparents of previous generations must have had similar concerns for their children and grandchildren. Again, I am reminded of the words of Dag Hammarskjöld, former Security General of the United Nations. He said, “For all that has been, thanks; for all that is to be, yes!”