Tempus Fugit

I had imagined that retirement from a demanding job would provide lots of free time. Not so much. Since Andy and I moved to Texas four years ago, our days are full. Each weekday, we are at our daughter's house at 7:00 AM to get her two kids ready for school as she and her husband head out the door. That means waffles, sausage and fruit for four-year-old Noah and cereal with juice for his sister Lena, age seven. Then one of us gets Noah dressed, checking his backpack for extra clothes and pull-ups. We get our granddaughter a snack for her after-school Tae Kwon Do class, brush her hair into a pony tail, and check to see that her homework and books are in her bag. If needed, medications are given and teeth are brushed. Then it's into coats and off to school and child care by 7:45. On the other end of the day, we usually get Noah at 4:00 to have some playtime at our house or home, then Lena is collected an hour later. One of us stays with the kids until Hannah or Reagan arrives home from work. Sometimes we get our oldest grandson, Booker from school and spend time with him, as well.

One of us always seems to have an appointment with our primary care doc or a specialist (there seem to be more of those as you age). We take kids to the pediatrician for routine visits and meet Hannah at Children's Medical Center for emergencies or to see specialists. Housework, bills, grocery shopping, errands, laundry, pet care fill the day. When the weather warms, I'll fill big containers for around the pool with summer flowers and plant some annuals in the front. Andy will do pool care and cushions for outdoor furniture will come out of storage to prepare for summer.

And so it goes. We enjoy each day and love being in the lives of our three grandchildren and their parents--the reason we moved to the Lone Star State. Lucky us.

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