Why we didn't go to the Arboretum

We went to the library instead

Tuesday the grandsons had no school. The parents both had to work, and my partner in grandmothering had just taken her turn, so it was mine.

Although I was available, and happy to help, I harbored some anxiety, because when the two are together they tend to bounce off each other – exponentially. My comfort zone is one boy at a time, and that has worked very well.

At the same time I prayed that God would show us our useful and constructive relationship together. This down-time from school didn’t need to be stressful for anyone. God's goodness fills each day, and it is our nature to participate in that goodness.

It promised to be one of the last gorgeous October days, and a great one for going to The Morton Arboretum – that wonderful living “tree and shrub museum” west of Chicago. I grab any excuse to go there, and the boys enjoy walking or running the trails.

So Tuesday came, and I arrived at their house. Their dad had already gone, and as their mom was leaving, she mentioned an Arboretum trip to them as a possibility.

The boys fixed breakfast – one preparing pancakes, the other scrambling eggs. This comes of having a dad who enjoys gourmet cooking as a hobby!

They had just created an original Lego village, and spent most of the morning engaged in Lego guy adventures.

Here is where I was pleased to see some progress, some good growing, on my part. An intuition said, "Let the boys chill." Intuitions, for me, are angel messages -- a little voice that gives us good advice. One way to tell that it's good advice is that it is usually unselfish and often blesses many rather than just one.

I'm learning that my day goes much smoother when I pay attention to these intuitions. So for once I didn’t push. The boys didn’t mention the Arboretum, so neither did I.

After lunch it seemed important to get out into the sunshine, so we walked to the library a mile away. We poked around the bookshelves and read awhile until the younger boy was ready to check out a football novel.

The lure of sunshine and the blue sky kept the boys outside the rest of the afternoon.

This day was different in a really good way. It was outstandingly simple and happy. Almost effortless. What a lesson for me in discovering the rewards of listening!

Nineteenth Century religious leader,Mary Baker Eddy, defined angels as

"God's thoughts passing to man;

spiritual intuitions, pure and perfect;

the inspiration of goodness, purity and immortality,

counteracting all evil, sensuality, and mortality."