It's a trail of bright colored Play-Dough bits and crayon drawings of "piles of snow" and stickers and paint and Light-Saber battles with vacuum hoses and cookies and orange pop and more cookies and dancing to the Fiesta Latin music channel (learning to do the twist and to shake our booties) and announcing, "Watch Nonna, I'm gonna fly now" as we jump from 3 steps up and Nonna's heart is temporarily arrested until the landing is obviously successful. 

It's Guini loving the most dangerous thing a one-year-old could love: neon-colored plastic jacks, which she likes to pull one by one from an old Quaker Oatmeal cannister and place on the floor and then immediately one by one they go back in.  She actually squeals with delight as she pulls them out, dazzled over and over by the colors and we just watch her and she dazzles us.

It's Hunter begging to be frightened again and again.  He makes me put on the Darth Maul mask and chase him, but screams in utter terror when I truly surprise him and then lifts the mask to make sure: "Nonna?"  Ok.  Relief.  It is just Nonna.  Back to being chased.  Then, time to cuddle and repeated requests to sing "Jingle-bells-all-the-way."  With Hunter, nothing is ever done once.  If once was good, many times are better.

It's Gavin "posing" me with a couple of stuffed animals as he cranks and adjusts Grandpa's tripod, pretending there is a camera there.  He tells me to wait "just one second" then instructs me, "Say cheese."  He squinches his eyes and I smile as he creates a clicking sound with his tongue and then he tilts his head head and says, "Awwwwwe…" because I smiled so prettily.  And as he thanks me for sitting still,  I wish I were aiming a real camera back to capture this exact moment of pretend into which I was invited.  And I force myself to see it deeply so I can never forget this February afternoon…

Being a mom was the most wonderful thing.  Being a grandma, I am completely undone.

May you also know this joy!  Blessings!  Jeanie

NOTE TO SELF:  I am feeling a strong urge to climb a fourteener just so I can scream out my gratitude to God for all He has given me, for how He has blessed me.  Gavin, Guinivere and Hunter, my personal heritage from the LORD, how I love you!