A funny story

Grandma said “Grandpa, tell Audrey a funny story”. I just happen to be quite possibly the best funny story teller I know. My kids always loved the creek bank story so using my best dramatic voice I started to tell how I had been playing with matches and set the creek bank on fire as I told about the flames climbing higher and higher Audrey’s eyes got bigger and bigger. I began to realize that maybe that this wasn’t the best story for a 2 year old but I hadn’t gotten to the punch line yet. When I got to the part where my Dad said “Billy get to the house” and when my Dad said that it meant you were going to get a whipping Audrey was almost on the verge of tears. I guess there was just something wrong with a story where Grandpa’s got spankings.
OK so maybe I am not the best story teller I know or maybe I just need to know my audience better. My kids loved the part where I asked Tammy to pray with me that I wouldn’t get a whipping and we both got one.
I knew I would run out of stuff to blog about because I never do anything exciting. So I tell stories of things that happened in the past. I think stories are important if they can be used to impart spiritual truths to our children and grandchildren. I also think it is important to make memories so that our children have stories to tell. So bear with me while I take a stroll down memory lane. I got this idea from Rebekah by the way but I am sure she won’t mind me stealing her idea. I would like to share with you some of my favorite childhood memories.

When Mom read the bible to us.

One of my earliest memories is being at a park with my Mom and Dad, I don’t remember where or when or who else was there, I just remember having fun and I remember Dad standing on a pedestal like the statue of liberty.

Riding horses, scooters and go karts and playing basketball in the school yard across the street from our house in Arvada. Dad was actually a pretty good basketball player, I never was.

The time we went camping in the mountains with the folks from Missouri and the coon dogs ran off and we stayed an extra week looking for the dogs. I enjoyed the time we spent looking for the dogs the more than anything else.

Wrestling with Dad in the front room.

Saturday mornings when Mom would fix a big breakfast and we would just sit around and talk after breakfast. (usually we had work to do)

Playing board games (not monopoly)

My favorite memories are the times we did things together as a family, even when we were fixing fence, hauling hay or cutting wood. It wasn’t fun at the time but I have some good memories of those times now.

I have a lot more, but I won’t bore you with them. I also have some bad memories of my childhood but I choose not to think about them. You can call it denial or repression, I just know I am a lot happier when I think about the good times, so that is what I try to focus on.
The memories we focus on as adults directly affects our level of joy and contentment, but as parents and grandparents we have an obligation to make some good memories for our children and grandchildren. The people in our Church have heard me say this many times, but please allow me to say it one more time:
I have never heard someone say “I wish we would have bought our kids more things, or I wish I would have watched more T.V. or spent more time at work or with my friends while my kids were growing up. But I have heard a lot of people say “I wish I would have spent more time with my kids. Its been awhile since I told a 2 year old a bedtime story, hopefully I will do better next time, because I want my grandkids to have good memories of the time they spent with their Grandpa and hopefully along the way I can impart some spiritual truths that will help them walk uprightly in a world that is becoming more dangerously wicked every day.
By the way the spiritual truths of the creek bank story are…
1. Obey your parents, especially when they tell you not to play with matches
2. When you pray God will forgive you, your parents will forgive you but you
will probably still get a whipping, especially if you were playing with matches.
3. Last but not least, when you pray for grace and mercy for someone else you
might want to say a little prayer for yourself… just in case.