Thoughts on a Sunday morning

In retrospect, it was a great trip. Put aside the overcrowded planes, the wait in the airports and the rude stafff of United Airlines. There are moments...kids in the back of the van singing at the top of their lungs and each knowing which part they are to sing, three kids sitting with kittens, so gentle with these new beings, Monkeyboy in the restaurant, waving smoke from a cigarette away and speaking loudly, saying..."here it comes again"...waving arms furiously to get rid of the smoke. Can you believe how many of us used to smoke and think nothing of it? We are now a smoke free family, and I am very glad. At the farm there was a family, a two year old named Dylan, his mother, Nina and Nina's parents. They lived in NYC. Grandpa was a very friendly man who enjoyed talking with all of us. Grandma was more quiet, more reserved. Dylan was an outgoing child with an amazing vocabulary. I spoke with Grandma while we were waiting for the hayride one morning. She was the caretaker for Dylan when Nina worked. I mentioned that she would know her grandson in a very special way. She thought for a moment and then said "Yes, but it gets very lonely". She talked about when her children were growing up and all her friends had children so there was a common bond. Now, she explained, her friends had no young children. They went out to lunch, to the theater, shopping...and she sat at home with her grandson. It wasn't all bad, she expained hastily, but it was lonely. Happens a lot now, doesn't it? Both parents working, few stay at home moms, grandparents helping out. My hat (if I wore one) goes off to them. And because of the adult interaction, I thought of what it would be like living in NYC, looking forward to having adult time and being the day to day caretaker of a two year old. In closing, I just finished watching Meet The Press, my Sunday morning ritual while I read the paper. I miss Tim Russert. I liked him. I don't know what his politics were and I don't care. I think he was fair and pressed people for answers when they tried to give the politically correct answer. The show just wasn't the same.