I have two choices today. One, I can be annoyed by the fact that my grandchildren are such good sharers, and left their cold germs behind when they visited last week. Or I can choose to look at my raging sore throat, sore ears and lack of energy as an opportunity to take a down day. I am definitely torn by these two decisions. Being a type A personality I want to continue to tough it out and get done all the things that are on my l my list for today. However, I know that since I am not hungry, and I do not feel energetic, I should probably crash on the couch with a good book, a fuzzy blanket, and a cat on my lap. Taking it easy is sometimes the best route for getting better, but also the hardest.

That said, I thoroughly enjoyed the two days with our grandchildren. My dad, their great grandpa, came to COSTCO for a shopping trip. We had fun browsing, and topped the trip off with hot dogs and pizza for lunch. The rest of the afternoon was down time, read books, take naps. The oldest had arrived with a cough and stuffy, yet runny nose. The youngest was extremely emotional , and a bit demanding all afternoon. I could tell he was tired. Baseball practice was cancelled due to rain, and after a healthy dinner, we all went to bed at a decent hour. I let them sleep in as long as they could. After eating the delicious banana chocolate chip pancakes, we drove to a nearby citywide garage sale. Each child was given twenty dollars to spend however they desired, with my veto power intact.

It was interesting to watch their two personalities at work. Our granddaughter who is almost 12 chose to spend her money on a travel alarm clock that came housed in an adorable pink gray and white case. Her large purchase ended up being a set of two pieces of luggage in a nice magenta color. Both were in excellent condition. The wheels and handles worked, and they were fairly clean. That was her treasure for the day. Our grandson on the other hand, who is almost 9, chose to look for baseball cards and Pokémon stuff at every stop. He came home with a couple Pokémon manuals (?), two small stuffed animals, a baseball clock, two brand new computer mice, a baseball bat and a huge box of baseball cards that he bargained for all by himself. I was pretty darn proud of the way he handled that. It went something like this: He had gone up to the man with a couple small stacks of cards and asked how much they were. The gentleman said,”that is a good question. Would you be interested in buying the whole box?” My grandson answered in the affirmative, and was then asked how much he thought he would like to pay for the box. He answered quickly and decisively, “five dollars.” The gentleman said he thought that that was a fair price, and then said, “I hope you find a million dollar card in that box”. I so appreciated his generosity.

Lunch at Subway, as planned, ice cream at Baskin Robbins, as planned. Since it had been colder than we expected, we were all a bit chilled, and our grandson had begun to show signs of the cold his sister had, we headed home for some down time before baseball practice. This gave me time to pack some snacks for them to eat beforehand. Baseball always seems to be during the dinner hour. Hopefully the snacks would tide them over until they had a late dinner at home.

They both went home happy, I went to bed that night happy. Our love tanks were full. So, I honk that I will choose not to be annoyed at the sickness. I am so grateful for each moment I get to spend with them, healthy or sick. Time passes way to quickly. So, I am grateful for the down day. I choose to see the silver lining. I hope you will also as you face the challenges of each day.