A Vision of a Preferred Future Arrives Early

I’m already a sucker for a good cry, so I wasn’t surprised to find myself feeling mushy at our granddaughter's second birthday party, but the more I’ve thought about how it went, I get teary all over again. I can now see that it was a glimpse of the future I wish for her and all young ones. 

Our granddaughter is blessed with a deep bench of grandparents as many children of blended families can be. But our son-in-law took it a step further and had a literal bench ready for all six of us grandparents, beautifully handcrafted just in time for the celebration. And this bench is both high enough for the sitting challenged and deep enough for those of us who prefer to pull up an ankle and “sit weird”. It spans the entire west wall of their dining room with one end of the communal table being served by it.

One of my favorite pictures from the day is of all six grandparents sitting on this bench together beaming at our granddaughter holding up the finger she’s got us all permanently wrapped around. And these are just her step and bio-grandparents. It doesn’t include the dozens of elders and peers she has in her life that care about her.

My image of a healthy future for our human family has always included young ones and elders convening on the floor.  And we saw a lot of that on her birthday. But this new bench also brought the birthday girl up to eye level with the few elders who can no longer choose the floor. She blew out her candles standing on this bench, unconfined to a high chair. She can hold court in all locations in her parents’ home.

Thank you, Nate, for showing us how to DIY a healthy built environment with the least disruption to the present, while simultaneously ushering in the healthy future today.