Blogs

In my whole world right now, nothing brings me more joy than my grandkids. I've become one of those grandparents who turns into a five-year-old when they are around.

They bring the simple, childlike view of life front and center. I think I might need to start a college course to teach this. Forget trigonometry, chemistry and political science. This is much more important in the scheme of a rich life. I'm not saying, "Don't go to medical school and become a brain surgeon." I just want young people to learn early what a rich life might look like. It's not always about money.

I didn't pay a therapist $200 an hour to pry open my mind to this realization. My husband and I took our granddaughters to an ice cream store and spent $9 dollars on ice cream. Yes, $9 dollars! Two pumpkin pie ice cream cups with pie crust, complete with whipped cream and two vanilla cones dipped in multi-colored sprinkles were our delight of the day.

We sat on the porch of Sunny Skies Ice Cream store in rocking chairs watching the world go by. The ice dripped and sprinkles fell onto laps, but no one moved to clean up the little messes. This was a "who cares about a little mess day?" The youngest wore her sunglasses upside down and smiled at everyone. The local sheriff arrived with his family and put his sunglasses on to match hers. We'd gone back to the past and now lived in Mayberry. I really like the past.

We sat for about 15 minutes, rocking gently in our chairs. "We should do this more," my husband said. I agreed, "We can make this a tradition every time we visit." The girls continued to lick their sprinkles off their melting cones, oblivious to the fast-paced crazy world out there.

"No, I mean at home, too," he grinned. I rocked a little slower and thought, "This is one of those small moments that makes a sweet memory. I'm going to keep this one close."

Pass the sprinkles, please.

- Anne Bardsley

Anne Bardsley lives in St Petersburg, Fla., with her "wrinkle maker" of a husband and two spoiled cockatoos. She's still recovering from raising five children. She is so happy she didn't strangle them as teenagers as they've given her beautiful grandchildren. She is the author of How I Earned My Wrinkles: Musings on Marriage, Motherhood and Menopause. She blogs at Anne Bardsley: Perfectly Imperfect.