Reese the Glover

My grandson, Reese is three years old and adorably cute. He is tall for his age and loves sports. At a very early age he was throwing all sorts of balls. At just over two he could be found, shooting hoops.....not just for a short time but for as long as 20 minutes. His attention span for sports amazed even his highly trained, teacher mother, Amy. Reese not only loves all sports but he studies them. He pays attention to the differences in balls. He knows all the equipment needed in soccer (perhaps because his father, Erik has a soccer bias and has influenced him) and he loves to watch them. Recently he has been paying attention to baseball. He likes to swing the bat and throw the ball and especially he loves to catch the ball with his glove. After one session of throwing the ball back and forth with his Mom, he announced, "Mom, I am going to be a glover." Of course he meant a catcher but even when corrected he thinks glover is the way to describe the guy or gal who catches the ball. In our family, sports are big. My father (Reese's great grandfather, Duane Berentson), was a basketball player and basketball coach. Reese's Dad was a soccer player and a soccer coach. Reese's sister, Hope is a soccer player and just this last weekend served her team as keeper or goalie. Perhaps the love of sports is genetic or perhaps it is nurtured into young children and it is likely that both nature and nurture play similar roles...but Reese is a child that interprets life most easily with a ball in his hands. It is said that people learn much about life while participating in sports. Reese John Freeman Hanson, three years old and growing is already building those experiences and memories that will serve him well in the years to come.

Knitting with Hope

Hope is my oldest biological grandchild. Before our oldest son got married and we acquired two "bonus" grandchildren, Hope was the only one. I will never forget holding her in my arms for the first time. I bonded with her instantly. She was a premie and quite small. She was strong however and from the first few moments of life, she let the world know, "I'm here world. Watch out." She had difficulty sucking because her reflex wasn't fully developed. Grandma hated to see the neonatal ICU nurse put the tiny little tube down her nose to feed her. She didn't like it and let her anger be known. She knew her mind from the very beginning. She is a beautiful child inside and out. She cares deeply about God and people and she loves animals, especially our Black English Lab, Babs. But that relationship will need description in another blogging.

I am a knitter. Not a beautiful knitter, just a knitter. My daughter describes my flawed projects this way, "Well if it didn't have a special Grandma flaw in it, it wouldn't be so special." This in reference to the red ponchos I made Hope and her sister Malia a few years ago. When Hope was four she decided she wanted to learn to knit. Grandma agreed to teach her. We got some yarn and some mid-size needles and started by Hope sitting in Grandma's lap. We came up with a little rhymn that seemed to help her remember "needle to the back; wrap it around, push it through and lift it off." She sat on my lap and we repeated it over and over again. She would loose interest and we would put it away and then the next time I visited we would pull it out again and start over. Hope is a bit of a perfectionist, yet even as a four year-old she hung in there. Then this last summer she really got the hang of it. At the Granny's cabin, she knit for hours and made a dish cloth for her Mom's birthday. This week her Mom posted a picture of Hope smiling and knitting with her friend Emily. Grandma's heart was warmed to the core. Hope now knows how to knit with needles and is also a finger knitter. It may be years before she knits her first sweater but learning to knit on her Grandmother's lap will be a memory that stays with her all of her life. Perhaps one day, this Grandmother will hold Hope's daughter, my great-granddaughter on my lap and teach yet one more generation the joy of knitting, that is not held in the product produced as much in the fellowship associated with the art. Hope gives me hope for the unknown and joy in who she is becoming.

Just Thinking About Grandma

Malia Jane Hanson is my five year-old granddaughter. She was born in Spokane while her parents and big sister were living at our house. So she came home to Grandma's house as a newborn. She was an easy baby. She didn't cry much and she was very content. For the first three months of her life, I held her, cuddled her and rocked her every day, sitting comfortably in my green Grandma Chair, as the kids call it. I talked to her, filled her memory banks (a term created by my mother, Joanne Berentson, and Malia's great-grandmother) and sang sweet little songs to her. Malia from a very early age, sucked her three middle fingers on her right hand. That, perhaps, made her an even more content baby and child. When she was distressed or over stimulated, she always had her fingers...and most of the time her "softy" a silky little small blanket that brings comfort. Every summer, my daughter, Amy and her family come to Washington state from their home in California to stay with us and spend time at Granny's Cabin on beautiful Sacheen Lake. During those times, Malia and Grandma have many times of cuddling and rocking and talking and singing. After one such period of time, summer, as it always does came to an end and the Hanson family had to return to California. When they got to their home in El Cerrito, CA they unpacked the car as families do, got things moved back into the house and settled and after awhile, no one could find Malia. Amy found Malia in her room, her fingers in her mouth and holding her "softy." Amy asked her, "Honey what are you doing in here?" Malia's reply was, "Oh Mom, I'm just sitting here thinking about Grandma." Oh how sweet to love a child so deeply and be loved by that child so deeply that when they are away from you, even though they are still so small, they long for that sweet time shared together. Grandmas can make a big difference in the lives of their grandchildren. God intended that!