Church

A friend's son turned four years old and they decided to give him an allowance for doing a chore. His very first week he picked up all his toys and his mom carefully counted out five dimes to him. She enjoyed the beaming smile on his face. "What do you plan to do with your money?" she asked. He became thoughtful for a moment and replied, "I think I'll buy that snack at church." Puzzled since they don't sell snacks at her church, she realized he was referring to communion. After all they always pass the collection plate right after. Not bad logic for a four year old.

Grandmother

This first year of being a grandmother has been absorbing. I find that I am endlessly interested in this developing little person, in a way which is similar to my feelings for my first child. I have diverse demands on my time so that there are natural limits to my interaction with John. I have more knowledge about child development now than I did 26 years ago, but it makes not a scrap of difference. No child has ever been so clever or so beautiful as this little boy. His every movement and mood fascinates me. I love to watch him play, to watch the choices he makes, to note the expressions of interest and joy and anger and cunning on his face. When he shrugs his shoulder and looks at me, coyly, inviting me to join in his world, I am ready to drop everything and leap.