Questions to
think about:
Can parents
have a favorite child that is if they have two or more children?
Can
grandparents love a grandchild more than the others?
If you do
not have children or grandchildren, then do you love a niece or nephew you
love/favor more than another?
Is it
possible to love a pet more than another pet?
I got thinking about the subject of
loving one child more than other yesterday, as I was listening to the Old
Testament story of Rebecca and her loving Jacob more that Esau and Isaac loving
Esau more. Yes, I do realize that this
was God’s plan, and sin plays a part in our lives. Sin can have an effect on those we love. You hear about this in the news. Your son kills someone and you hate the
action but still love your son. He will pay
his consequences, as we pay our consequences when we sin. Some of us pay with spending eternity in the
“Lake of Fire” due to sin, while others who believe that Jesus Christ died on
the cross and rose again for our sin will spend eternity with our Lord. Yes, we still sin but can ask for forgiveness
from our Lord. We read story after story
in God’s Word the Bible about sin, love, consequences, and forgiveness. You do hear in the news and from others
regarding my child was not raised this way.
“I can’t believe he shot, robbed, ______. You fill in the blank. He does live in a sin filled world and has
choices that he must make.
I have two children Angie and Julie
that I believe that I love the same.
They both have their own strengths and weaknesses; at times I love some
and others that I don’t understand. I
feel that I do not favor one over the other.
Angie thinks that I love and favor Julie more than her. I hear that from her all the time. Julie is a lot like me. Angie did this thing that she took training
on last month called Colors. You answer
questions and then you are placed in color groups. Julie and I came up really close, while Angie
and Jocelyn scored close, and Katelyn was more like Julie and I.
A good example of my not
understanding is in the area of money.
Angie is like her father and likes to spend money, instead of saving
it. Julie is a saver and is currently
saving for a cruise to Alaska with Sean for next year. Angie is getting better about her spending
habits and trying to save money. She
just has to stay away from the outlet mall when she comes to Omaha to
visit. Julie shops for used items that
she can flip and make money after her kids use an item such as a baby
swing. Her car stops at garage sales and
consignment stores. Back when I could
drive my car did the same thing. Julie
is not as bad as I am about spending money, and is always giving me her words
of wisdom when I complain about Pat spending money on things that I feel we can
live without. A good example of this is
when we were in Grand Island for Easton and Katelyn’s ball games. It was a cool evening and I froze at the
game. Julie, Angie, and Pat wanted to
stop for ice cream. To me that was just
a waste of money. We could have a
healthy fruit snack when we got home. I
did not order any treat since I could not tell how much the cost would be,
since they charged buy the ounce.
I do remember getting
cones for Angie and Julie when they were little and the gas station had a
special on for 10 cent cones. We ate
lunch at Little Kings with our free sandwiches with the library reading
program. No pop with the sandwich, but
would buy them each a pickle. Did I make
you share the pickle? Yes, you always
remind me of the time or times that I made you share a happy meal. I called myself thrifty back then, while you
girls thought I was just cheap. We went
to the zoo this spring and lunch cost us $60 for slice of pizza, drink and
chips. Sorry Julie, I promised not to
complain about that. Your kids are just
like you; they have to have lunch and can’t wait. I understand that now, and will always have
snacks in my bag to hold them over until we find a cheaper place to eat or get
home. I am always saving for
something. In my early years, it was
clothing, a new suede jacket for $54 in 1970 and a white leather coat that was $60
in the 70’s. I kept that suede jacket
and still have it. Do I wear it? NO! I have hoarding in my bloodline, mother,
father and siblings. Beware Angie, do you really need a closet full of shoes
and purses? I do like a good pair of
shoes and will buy them from a store vs garage sale or thrift store. I do wear Angie’s old shoes, but they don’t
get a lot of wear.
I love how my girls both went into teaching fields. Julie started as a young child downstairs
with her dolls and chalk board and babysitting kids that I watched. Then went on to teach high school at Millard
South, and now is homeschooling my five grandchildren. That is a lot of work, and she does a great
job since my grandchildren are very smart.
Angie has worked with troubled youth the past 14 years and is
currently working for the State teaching her clients a variety of skills. She does other tasks as well. She loves her job and coworkers. She is a very hard worker and puts in many
hours. She has a great work ethic which
is hard to find now days in the work place.
I have met her bosses a couple of times and they always have good things
to say about Angie. It is so great to
have Angie back in NE. Her nieces and
nephews love her so much. She takes them
on outings, attends their activities, and enjoys spending time with them and
Julie. Angie will take me shopping and
makes me spend money when I need something new.
She will take me to health food stores and tries to be patience as I
read labels. She makes me eat out at
Blue but, I do love that place when it is happy hour. Angie can talk to anyone and has a sense of
humor, so people like to be around her.
Back to the subject of favorites, Angie has always been my mom’s
favorite, and my sister’s favorite.
Sorry to the others in my family, but that is the way I feel. My mother loved all her children the same, but
we all want to think that we were our parent’s favorite. It is human nature.
Julie is a great mom and wife to her husband Sean. Again I have the kindest, sweetest, well
behaved grandchildren due to having her as a great role model along with their
dad. I love all my grandchildren the
same and I have no favorites. Even though
Katelyn while looking through photo vacation books and asking if that was her,
and I keep replying, “No that is Jocelyn, “She then replied, “Grandma you never
took me anywhere.” We changed that last
summer when we took her to Indiana all by herself. Same as with my own kids the grandchildren
have their strengths and weakness that I love and that I may not like. Jocelyn with her eye rolls and thinks she is
so knows so much, to her wanting to sleep downstairs with me. There are two beds and I thought she would
take the empty one. She still is not too
old to snuggle next to me along with Missy and Riley on a single bed. I better
enjoy these years of her making craft messes all over. She loves all types of art projects and maybe
be an artist like her great grandma. She is getting ready to go into the tunnel
of a teenager and not come out until older. Katelyn is my helper; she is always
asking to help. She has such a kind heart and a rule keeper. She makes her
messes when she cooks up different recipes.
Katelyn and Jocelyn know how to make a variety of things and are a great
help to Julie for lunch, dinner, and their favorite snack. Last time I saw them Katelyn was making some
banana bread from some old bananas that I had. Katelyn gets like her mom when
she is tired, so beware.
Easton lives in his own little world. This involves building things, and working on
math. I tried to get him to work on
reading and he refused, but then read when mom talked with him. He is always working on some kind of project,
like collecting insects to building a working radio. He is so much like his dad with his likes of
archery, hunting, and fishing. Weston
likes the same things his big brother does, since he and Easton are best
buddies. Weston still likes to snuggle, and spend time with me when he is not
on his I pad. He will go on walks with
me to the park to play. Landon is my
smiley snuggler when not crawling all over getting into things, soon to be
walking, since he is standing at 7 months.
I have no favorites with my grandchildren. We have a lot of pictures and
video of Jocelyn and took her many places, so the other kids may think that we
favor her. It is just what you do with
your firsts. So for the fifth one he has no video of his birth. Grandma saw the first four being born, but
not the fifth.
Now on to my last question, can one
love/favor a pet over another? In my
case I have two dogs and it is harder to answer. For you who have a cat and dog this is an
easy question, the dog wins. Missy and
Riley our two dachshund rescue dogs are loved the same. Riley likes to go on walks with me while
Missy needs to be forced. Missy sleeps
next to me under my covers, while Riley sleeps at my feet. Riley loves any kinds of treats, and Missy
can be picky at times. Missy is also
stubborn and loves to lick everything she can.
Riley wants to say hi to whoever is eating at the park when I walk
him. He just wants to see if they will
offer him a snack, so this turns into a tugging/power struggle match. They are both good watch dogs and my untrained
service dogs when I am out walking, since they bark to let me know someone is
near. Yes, I love them both.
I rambled on about those I love, but
did not discuss my husband Pat. He of
course is my favorite husband. (He is the only one I ever had.) He is a great husband, father, grandfather,
and daddy to Missy and Riley. He is a
hard worker, and is working as I type this.
He has put up with me all these years, so that tells you something of
his character. Yes, I can be a cheap
skate at times, and complain about the prices of things. I am living in my mind back in the past when
gas was low, movie prices were affordable, and you could get a 10 cent ice
cream cone. I get on him about eating
unhealthy foods, such as eating chips and ice-cream instead of the healthy
fruit and vegetables we have around to eat.
I also hint around about getting some exercise, when I ask if he wants
to go on a walk with the dogs and I. He
did really good with exercise this winter in Texas and did a lot of bike
riding. So I know he can to it. I better stop writing, since I am starting to
complain about my dear sweet loving husband since 2-2-74, you do the math.
