Friday, July 3, 2009

I hope I'm Still With it when I'm her age...

I am at the beach this week with my husband's family. We do this trip every year. It's Jeff, me, our 4 kids, Jeff's parents, his Aunt Dorothy (75), his grandmother-Big Granny (86), and his other grandmother-Little Granny (91).

We've celebrated 3 birthdays this week. 2 of my kids, and Big Granny. Hayden turned 14. Dylan turned 12. Big Granny turned 86. We seem to be at the beach each year for their birthdays.

I have been very observant of the ladies on this trip. We have had so much fun. And I've learned that the things that make being a girl fun when you are young are still the things that make being a girl fun when you are older.

On our first night here, Jeff's mom, Pat, gave all of us bracelets with beads of our birthstones. It just felt fun and girlie to all be getting something special. No boys included. The next day, Big Granny gave all the girls "chocolate" shirts. She found shirts at the Cracker Barrel with a quote about chocolate, so she bought one for each of us. For instance, mine said, "Forget love, I fall in chocolate." Then the next night we all painted our toe nails green. Yes, that's right, I said green! Of course we have pictures to document all of this. The following day, the ladies went shopping, with their green toe nails of course. Boy did we make a statement! How beautiful is that? The youngest of the girls is 7. The oldest is 91.

Tonight we had family game night. The first game was for the kids, involving putting your face in whipped cream to find m&m's and marshmallows. The next game was relay race where we had to put on different items of clothing (my team won :). The last game was a 3 legged race. We all played, from the youngest to the oldest. When it was my turn, I was paired with Aunt Dorothy, who is 75. I must say, she's the youngest 75 year old I know. We wiped out! Yes we did. Fell flat on our faces! She did much better than me! My knee still hurts! But oh it was so fun. When it was Little Granny's turn to do the 3 legged race with Blake, my 15 yr old son, she had extra help from her own son, who is 68. It was precious and priceless.

We often gage beauty on what we 'see' with our own eyes. But I believe beauty is more something that can be experienced. I look at my husband's grandmothers and I see beautiful. Yes, they are wrinkled. Yes, they are slower than the rest of us. But oh, they are amazingly beautiful. When I come on this beach trip each year, I try to take in all I can. I want to pass it all on. The stories. The fun. The laughter. The faith. The traditions. The ladies rock.

This year I'm the 2nd youngest lady on the beach trip. At 42, I'm feeling young. But even as time goes on, even when I'm not one of the youngest, I hope I'm still lovin life and enjoying the fun. Yes, "I hope I"m Still With it when I'm her age......"

Beautiful Blessings,

Melissa

2 comments:

Joyful said...

Melissa, sounds like sooooo much fun!!!!!! So glad you're having such a great holiday.

Your post made me think of Jimmy Durante's song, "Young at Heart".

Fairy tales can come true
It can happen to you
If you're young at heart
For it's hard, you will find,
To be narrow of mind
If you’re young at heart
You can go to extremes
With impossible schemes
You can laugh when your dreams
Fall apart at the seams
And life becomes exciting with each passing day,
And love is either in your heart… or on its way.
Don't you know that it's worth
Every treasure on earth
To be young at heart?
For, as rich as you are,
It's much better by far
To be young at heart
And, if you should survive
To a hundred and five,
Look at all you'll derive
Just by being alive!
Now, here is the best part:
You have a head start
If you are amongst the very young...
At heart

Keep enjoying and living each day to the full. You ARE beautiful.
Hugs,
Joy

Chef Diane said...

Wow, wish I could have that story. But am so glad you do.
Love you,
Diane