When my daughter asked if I would watch her children so she and her husband could celebrate 10 years of marriage, I said, “Of course!” But first, I had to take a moment to process that my youngest child has been married for 10 years! I honestly don’t know how time has passed so fast.

My time with her three children was spent playing games, watching a movie, building rooms with blocks to house the collection of animals, and providing lots of snacks. In the afternoon, we took a walk which ended with one slipping into the creek. Thankfully, the temperatures were mild and no one was hurt. Just wet and maybe a little embarrassed. We hurried home to a warm bath.

As I got J warm and dry, he smiled and looked up at me and said, “Grandma, you laugh easily.” I don’t think anyone had ever voiced that observation about me, but it felt very nice coming from the mouth of my shy, almost 6-year old grandson. It must have felt important for him to say.

As Charlie Chaplin is often quoted, “A day without laughter is a day wasted.”