Quiet Holiday's

Labor Day weekend. The last big weekend of summer. People make plans for that last camping trip, or picnic with family and friends. School has started back and things are winding down for the summer's end. It's a nice time to take off work a few days and just "BE"!

I remember years gone by when growing up and the family would get with relatives and have a picnic at a park somewhere, or at someone's home. The kids would run around, holllering, playing, swinging, climbing, playing softball and stuff. Adults would play with us, holler at US, play horseshoes and eat! What fun it was. We didn't waste time on computors, texting to people who weren't there, because we wanted to spend it with our family! In fact we thought it was rude to not give attention to those around you! How different it is today! Just try to talk to someone who has a cell phone in their hand! they get a beep and they grab that drug and type right in the middle of your sentence! But that's another blog sometime!

Then we grew up, got married and had our own families. Things were changing already! We lived miles away because of College and jobs. Getting together with family became harder and fewer times in between the holidays. But you made do! You had friends over for cookouts, or just took your kids to the park. We would take our girls to a park in Northern Indiana where they had nice walking trails and walk all over, stopping by the animal pen where buffalo and elk were. How exciting when they were close to the fence and not far off in the middle of the field where you could barely see them!

Another time, in NW Ohio, we would go into Toledo where there were metro-parks and we had one we enjoyed the most. We would walk trails there, stop by the deck over the pond and laugh at the fish who would surface when we spit, thinking it was food! Yep.. our girls learned to spit!
Then we would move on the trails and walk over the sand dunes. Those were fun days.

Now the girls are grown, married and kids of their own. They are making memories with them. They are good moms and love their girls as much as we loved them! Now we have 4 granddaughters and they are the joy of our lives! I love watching them play and giggle and run screaming from Grandpa when he chases after them howling like a monster!

So, now it is labor day weekend. Summer is winding down. Nights are getting cooler, and the days MUCH more bearable! I hate the heat and humidity the east brings during summer! I really love this time of year! Our family is scattered too. One is an hour away, the other almost 4 hours away. So getting together is not as often. We can count on either Christmas Or Thanksgiving to be with the one furthest away, but other holidays we can't.

Seems like family does their own things now. Mom and Dad, wanting to be with them and the kids are somehow left out of the plans now. I don't know... We like to play games and do things too. We are not OLD yet. We can still walk and talk. We get busy too, but we try to keep the special days free for family but somehow it doesn't work that way.

Maybe I sound like I'm complaining, and I guess I am. We tried to include family in activities growing up and it is a strange feeling when now when you could really use the company and the sharing of good times, that you're left out in the cold!

Adult children! Where ever you are! Don't forget your parents in your plans. Set aside TIME for them! Someday we won't be here, or maybe physically but not mentally ! It isn't being selfish on our part as parents. It's just we love you and want to share with you. Sometimes just being together without "outsiders" around is a good thing. Friends are nice, but sometimes family should take first place. Your friends are not necessarily OUR friends and vise versa. You usually do not want to hang with ours.... and it goes both ways. Your conversations with them, have no meaning for us, for we do not travel in that circle.

WEll, it's off my chest now. I'm feeling rather low right now. Waiting for plans the last minute is not fun, either. It sends the signal that IF you don't find something more fun to do, then we'll call YOU!

SO , it's labor day weekend. Guess I'll get on the computor and see what's going on somewhere near and make our own plans. After all, what else is there to do??