Writing in the Spaces by Marta Perry

Having just returned from a trip to Arkansas to visit my daughter, her husband, and my two grandchildren, I am belatedly trying to catch up on all the things I left behind! As important as writing is in my life, faith and family are higher priorities. When I'm visiting with the grandkids, I'm always conscious of the fact that I want to make memories with them. After all, which of us can know how many of those precious times we'll have?

So I found myself sitting on a bleacher seat, cheering for my grandson's basketball team and wondering if those benches have really gotten harder since the days when I spent so much of my time sitting on them, watching my daughters cheer or my son wrestle. Since I have a little more padding now, you'd think they'd be softer, but they're not!

I'm afraid I grew a bit nostalgic as I thought about those days. How did they slip away so quickly? I remember when I was like my daughter, spending half my life in my car and I shuttled kids from place to place. I even remember wishing at times that we lived in town, so they could walk to their various events.

But oh, how much I'd have missed! All of our best conversations seemed to take place in the car. Trapped in that small space with Mom, kids open up, sharing things they never would say over the dinner table. Maybe it's partly because we seem focused on the driving, so that it's almost like talking to themselves. A few of those special conversations even cropped up with the grandkids when I rode along, and I wouldn't trade them for anything.

Today I'm back at work on the new book, and I've discovered that some of it seemed to be written in the back of my mind while I focused on other things. Maybe the muse works best when I give it a little space.

In any event, I wouldn't trade the past few days for anything. What about you? Have you made any special memories with kids or grandkids lately? I hope so.

Blessings,
Marta