"When people get old, THAT gets squishy." (Eli's Anatomy)

That's what grandson Eli told me the other week as he pointed to my throat, so I  assume that's the part of us old ladies that gets "squishy". Of course, I'm not that old, but then he's only 4!  To him, I'm OLD!

It's true that since I lost weight, my throat looks a little more like a scrawny-old-lady-chicken-neck, now that there's not as much "padding" to fill it out...but I had never thought of it as squishy.  Now, thanks to Eli, every time I look at an older person's throat, I'll be tempted to subtly check out its squishiness!  (And maybe subtly cover up my own?)

Hmmmm.  After writing those last two sentences, I realized there's a lesson there.  We have a tendency to check out other people's defects and cover up our own, don't we?** I guess a true sign of humility would be to do the opposite: look for other people's good points and not seek recognition for our own.  (Not as easy!)
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We just got back from a wonderful almost-two-weeks with Eli and his siblings and cousins, plus his mom and dad, aunt and uncle:  our son Dan, gracious wife KC, and their Noe (9), Micah (7) and Eli...plus our daughter Debbie, much- appreciated husband Steve, and their Liliana (6) and Miriam (4...but almost 5).  Debbie's kids are Dan's kids' only cousins, so it's always special when they get together.  And Eli loved having someone around who was also 4!

The only difficult part of our time together was having, first Dan, and then me, come down with the flu...or some other sort of spoil-sport virus. He got sick only a couple of days after we arrived, and I went down only a day or two later.  Though he spent a day or so in bed, Dan's the kind that toughs it out when he needs to...so he did just that.  I tried to follow his example! There was no way I was going to miss out on interaction with our children and grandchildren, The hoarseness and rattle-y chest and cough made it a challenge, to say the least!  I think Dan was sicker...but also tougher!

Those of you who follow my blog know I never miss a week!  But that Wednesday I felt so very sick that I simply couldn't think, much less try to organize my thoughts enough to write something halfway intelligible!  So, for the first time, I let it slide.  (And the world didn't come to an end!)
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As I continue our story, remembering God's kindness and grace to us, I'll be telling you (among other things) about how He worked and blessed and taught through the circumstances surrounding the arrival of our five grandchildren.  At times, it seemed like He really outdid Himself...if that's even possible!

My chest still sounds awful when I cough, but the other symptoms have pretty much cleared up, and now we start getting back into our home routine, buoyed up by the memories of these days God allowed us to spend with our dear ones.  I'll try to include some photos in the next post.

I hope that each one of you had a wonderful start to the new year!  May you remember to write "2015" instead of "2014" on checks, letters, etc.!  I'll see you next week.  God bless you!
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**(I didn't mean to imply that having a squishy neck was a defect!  I was just making an analogy about human nature.)