Ah, how life changes. The seasons change, days get shorter, the leaves on the trees change colors and begin to accumulate in piles on the ground, jackets come out of the closets, and a chill begins to creep into the wind, a sign of things to come.
Another season in my life has changed also. Yesterday another one of my children moved back home with me, bringing his beautiful wife and two very young sons with him, and the house was filled with the sounds of happy 2-year-old babbling once again, as well as "No, don't TOUCH that!" lol. The insistant demands and cooing of a 2 month old also graced my home, and at the end of the day, lullibies were sung to the new arrivals, something I thought were long since passed.
My artistic workspace has also undergone a drastic change. Where once it occupied large parts of my living room and dining room, about 75% of it has migrated to Grandma Pat's bedroom, much to the displeasure of the resident Navy Mascot, also known as Miss Cleo. Miss Cleo, who is one of the rare felines that I know of to have survived a stroke and resides in my bedroom (as she is unable to defend herself against the 2 other cats in the house), has seen major changes in her world, and is none too happy about it. Her cat tree now resides beside Grandma's computer desk, and she will be supervising my computer work from this point on. The bed has been raised 6" (so I could drastically increase the storage space under it), and she is adjusting to the extra height she now much leap to gain her favorite curling-up spot. She is not at all pleased with the new sounds of new little people, positioning herself on my pillow, tightly curled up around my head when I took a short nap, and alarmed when the new sounds invaded her world when a crying baby was admitted to the room. She approached the source of the new sounds with both caution and alarm, sniffing the new creature's leg as he squirmed and carried on, then retreating quickly to the run I left her under the bed, choosing to have nothing to do with the new arrival after that. At this early hour, she is currently on her newly elevated perch, in a position where she can both observe my working, something new to her, as well as keeping a sharp eye on the door, least that small creature invade her space again. :)
As for me, I feel energized and a renewed hope for the future, a sense of purpose I haven't had in a long time. My career was raising 5 children, and even with professional successes, nothing was more rewarding or more satisfying than contributing to my children's lives and watching their growth and development over the years. I am thankful that my son decided that I had something worthwhile still to offer to his children as well, and although the new circumstances will present it's own new challenges, it also presents the potential for great rewards for everyone involved.
For now, my family is looking to the lessons of family from the turn of the 20th century, when economic times were not easy, and several generations living under the same roof were common. In diaries and domestic literature from the time, we noted some of the strengths of those living arrangements, such as shared expenses being much lower (back then, homes were usually bought for cash after saving for years), and youngsters having the benefit of many adults to look to for guidance and attention. There are many instances in memoirs of growing up with grandparents and even aunts and uncles in the household, and the special memories of who would fix breakfast and tell stories early in the morning, or who would share what life skills such as a favorite hobby with youngsters, as well as the added eyes watching out for the children, and the additional close adult associates from which to choose to share the monumental issues of childhood. Even though I'm sure these are idealized remembrances, we are aspiring to use this as our modern model to build on the strengths of my family as it is now, and perhaps even to build something very rare and special for the upcoming generation. We shall see how that works out, and I'm sure I'll share more of this new journey here. :)
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