Through the Eyes of a Child

This Sunday, July 4th, will be my older daughter Tammy's birthday. To honor that, I would like to share this story of one of the important life lessons I learned from her:

It was a hot summer day and we were setting out to get our chores done. This included shopping; never my favorite task with a toddler who would rather be off playing. A normal hurried mom just getting through the day...

As I got Tammy out of the truck, I looked down and thought, "Oh gross! That sidewalk is pretty nasty! Someone needs to get out here with the steam cleaner. Don't they know how bad it looks?"
Gum and grease and spilled food and heaven knows what else?

Tammy started skipping off down the sidewalk, then stopped and was staring down. I thought she was seeing the same disgusting mess I saw...

But only through a child's eye - the vision was completely different! She exclaimed, "Oh mommy! Look how pretty!"

PRETTY?!?!

What in the world was she talking about? Certainly not this sidewalk! All I could see was the yuck and crud!

"Oh mommy, don't you think it looks like diamonds?"

DIAMONDS?!?!

But then I looked again. The sun was striking the pavement just right and all the little granite and mineral chips WERE shining bright! It did indeed look like diamonds sparkling in the afternoon!

I was reminded to stop and take a minute to look at the world through her eyes.

So full of trust and innocence that she saw only the beauty. No hurried tasks to accomplish. No "To Do" lists to check off. Just seeing all the wonders of God's world.

I think I appreciate this even more as a grandmother.

May I remember to step back and appreciate the blessings each day brings.

And may I try to see things -

Through the Eyes of a Child

Amen

Happy Birthday to my beautiful daughter who is a great mom to her own two girls! And by being her mom, I thank her, and the Lord for the life lessons...

People were also bringing babies to Jesus to have him touch them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them. But Jesus called the children to him and said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it."
Luke 18:15-17

(c) CHRobinson June 2010

Knothole in the Family Tree

Here is some interesting family history, a bit on the shady side...I've waited what I hope has been a respectful amount of time since Esther's passing to continue the story of her mother, Mary.

After Esther had been born, Mary left her infant in the care of her in-laws, got a divorce and hit the road with some questionable characters.
Hey, the divorce alone was scandalous enough in the day!


One of those questionable characters was Eber "Sid" Siddons. I must say, I'm not certain if this is fact or fable; but it has been reported from reliable sources and family tales that he ran a very profitable bootleg whiskey operation!

To get his product into the little communities without too much trouble, two things were of utmost importance:
1) Know who the local authorities were and know their routines.

2) Have some really fast cars capable of transporting the whiskey!

Now Mary was a very attractive young lady! She was sent into the town first to find a "camp." Motorcourts would have been perfect. These were small roadside bungalows with parking right alongside.

She would then get acquainted with the police and spend enough time to get them talking. It was never said right out loud, but it was implied that she would use her "feminine wiles" ...

Then Sid and his fellows could come in with the merchandise he was bootlegging.

Seems he made enough money from this setup he purchased a car dealership and made an honest woman of Mary. They married and brought Esther with them to the Rapid City area. Mary got to live with all the extras she loved and have her daughter with her, too!

So goes this branch of the family tree...a few twists and knotholes. Interesting, to say the least!

Here is a picture we took last summer of the garage he owned in Belle Fourche, SD.

(c) CHRobinson June 2010