Best weekend!

I never had so much fun losing!

I lost the game of darts,

...and many games of air hockey.

You sunk my ships in Battleship.

I enjoyed the traditional Christmas tree setup,

 

 

Waking up to you, Lucy, your mother, Mr. Daniel and your Uncle Tyler's coffee.

Bedtime stories and thankfulness,

and discovering that at 8 years old your feet are the same size as grandma Jeanne's.

 

 

Your mother's home cooking,

 

Taking you to school.

  Thank you Penn for one of grandma's BEST weekends ever!

A Winner

The Cheetahs wond their game today (11/19/11) to take 2nd place in the league.  They were only one away from 1st! (This was posted by your mother on FB).

Happy Birthday Penn

If I were a writer, I would have this to write to you:

Whatever happened to one, two and three,
when I held you in my arms
and bounced you on my knee?

And when did four, five and six
slip by
when I pushed you on the swing,
and you said, "push me high!"?

Now I do remember
remember seven,
but before I know it
you will be eleven!

I love you Penn Lennon Smith!

Love,
Grandma Jeanne

I Miss You

This morning when I was walking Marley, I thought about you and wished you were here.

At sometime in your life of education you will read in your history book about Steven Jobs.  Most likely you will think about him as intense as I think about Thomas Edison every time I flip a switch to turn a light on.  For now and for what it is worth, Mr. jobs impact in grandma Jeanne's life time has made it possible for me take pictures from my phone and post to you and to receive daily updates about you from your mother.  His innovation has helped us stay in touch, even though you live in Dallas TX, and grandma lives in MI.



Steven Paul "Steve" Jobs (February 24, 1955 – October 5, 2011) was an American inventor and entrepreneur. He was co-founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Apple Inc. Jobs also was co-founder and previously served as chief executive of Pixar Animation Studios; he became a member of the board of directors of the Walt Disney Company in 2006, following the acquisition of Pixar by Disney.
In the late 1970s, Jobs—along with Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, Mike Markkula and others—designed, developed, and marketed one of the first commercially successful lines of personal computers, the Apple II series. In the early 1980s, Jobs was among the first to see the commercial potential of Xerox PARC's mouse-driven graphical user interface, which led to the creation of the Macintosh.^[6][7] After losing a power struggle with the board of directors in 1985, Jobs left Apple and founded NeXT, a computer platform development company specializing in the higher-education and business markets.
In 1986, he acquired the computer graphics division of Lucasfilm Ltd, which was spun off as Pixar Animation Studios.^[8] He was credited in Toy Story (1995) as an executive producer. He remained CEO and majority shareholder at 50.1 percent until its acquisition by The Walt Disney Company in 2006,^[9] making Jobs Disney's largest individual shareholder at seven percent and a member of Disney's Board of Directors.^[10][11] Apple's 1996 buyout of NeXT brought Jobs back to the company he co-founded, and he served as its interim CEO from 1997, then becoming permanent CEO from 2000, onwards.^[12] After resigning as CEO in August 2011, Jobs was elected chairman of Apple's board of directors and held that title until his death.
On October 5, 2011, Jobs died in California at age 56, seven years after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.^[2][13][14] On his death he was widely described as a visionary, pioneer and genius—perhaps one of the foremost—in the field of business, innovation, and product design, and a man who had profoundly changed the face of the modern world, revolutionized at least six different industries, and who was an "exemplar for all chief executives". His death was widely mourned and considered a loss to the world by commentators across the globe. - Wikipedia

I Miss You

 

 Grandma Jeanne works 8 hours at one job and

then 7 hours at another job, and like most grandmothers I keep my grandchildrens
pictures close at hand.  I wish I could see you every week like I get with LillaMai, but
until I see you again, I am able to see pictures of you everyday.  I love and miss you
Penn.

Second Grade

You have started second grade, and grandma is looking forward to your mother's
updates on your progress, your passions for the year, and watching you grow.

Michael Angelo said, "I am still learning."  Your great grandpa Moon said this too.
The first time I heard grandpa Moon say this was when he was 80 years old. 
Three words, packed with hope, challenge, excitement, and anticipation. 

Grandma wishes you the "best" this school year.  Enjoy your second grade, enjoy
the learning.

Father's Day

Kayaking down the  Galien River.  

I hear you have learned how to swim!  Grandma Jeanne is impressed because swimming was never one of my  talents.  I took swimming classes when I was about your age and it was a requirement in several gym classes from grade school to academy.  

While most of my friends were like mermaids, I floundered around like a fish out of water, gasping, and hanging onto the edge of anything for dear life praying for time to pass quickly along with just praying I wouldn't drown, but all the while never revealing my fears.

In academy, thoroughly disgusted with my lack of  confidence and gracefulness in the water I enrolled in a synchronized swimming class.  Wikipedia describes:

"Synchronized swimming demands advanced water skills, and requires great strength, endurance, flexibility, grace, artistry and precise timing, as well as exceptional breath control when upside down underwater."   Most of which I did not have, except endurance and flexibility, and determination to learn this graceful art.

I did pass the class with an A but not because I had become graceful.  I believe much of it had to do with attendance, and the teacher's fear I would retake the class,  and because I was not an asset to the group recital.  While everyone else's long, slender legs with ballerina poses came up out of the water in perfect precision, I could barely get my ankles to show.  The end with pretty, smiling faces emerging from the water, I was blinking water out of my eyes, spitting water out of my mouth, and gasping for air (thank goodness for the music).  The main thing was I passed the class and was still "alive"!

I moved onto being talked into water skiing by friends who like synchronized swimming glided over the water with such ease, my fear was much less plus it required less time in the water.  Again, it was battle for life. Wiping out with water forced into every pour of my body with no sense of coordination to let go of the rope, even though everyone on the boat and on shore yelled at me to "let go of the rope"!  Eventually I did master being able to ski  down the river quite a ways and glide into the dock area. A much better experience, but certainly not something I looked forward to do.  Where am I going with this?

I enjoy kayaking, I look forward every year to get out on the water.  I love the feel of the exercise, the nature surrounding the trip, whether on Lake Michigan or Madron Lake .  This is as good as it gets for grandma when it comes to water sports.

So for Father's Day, grandpa Willard and I went kayaking :). 

The Child

My amazing Penn...

“The day the child realizes that all adults are imperfect,
he becomes an adolescent;
the day he forgives them, 

he becomes an adult;
the day he forgives himself,

he becomes wise”

 [Alden Nowlan]

Be "You"...

http://youtu.be/J7X_X1zdH8k

Planting Boxwood

There is something about seeds, plants, dirt and watching things grow grandma Jeanne has always enjoyed and appreciated  a lot.  As the years go by, no children at home, working at both the University and hospital with little time at home, I am leaning more towards hardy perennials, and bushes; altho I admire your mother's garden of fresh vegetables and beautiful flowers.

I have always liked the Boxwood.  This year grandma added 6 more Boxwood bushes to her collection.  I planted them in metal containers grandpa Willard originally designed for herbs a few years ago.  As I grow older, I wonder what I'll change about gardening...perhaps a hiring a lawn and gardening service :).

Best Day

"The best days you live are the ones you spend loving other people." - Joyce Meyer/Daily Devotion

(Remembering your visit.  I love you Penn.)

Laugh

Grandma Jeanne doesn't make it a point of laughing at someone's misery, but there are just some times when I can't help it.  This was one of them.

Friends

Brandon (holding LillaMai), Christopher (holding Murphy) & You

Grandma  Jeanne came across these pictures she had taken March 16th when you were here visiting.  The photos were taken at Aunt Lise and Uncle Ty's apartment.  Two friends, (nurses Aunt Lise worked with), had stopped by to say good bye  before moving. 

Posing for pictures were interrupted as we all enjoyed you and Murphy dashing back & forth.  Finally it all came together and we were able to get the five of you in the picture.  Fun times :).

Spiegel im Spiegel

"We cannot see what is in the heart of another person.  Maybe he is a holy man, and I can only see that he is wearing a wrong jacket."  [Arvo Part] 

(Arvo Part is an Estonian composer, this piece is a favorite of grandma Jeanne's)

Sunday

Today Grandpa Willard & I took the train into Chicago... 

 

Our first stop was coffee (of course) at Intelligentsia

Then onto Michigan Avenue

 

Teavana (Imperial Aci Blueberry ice tea sweetened with German Rock Sugar)

Lunch at the Big Bowl

 

Our fortunes for the day (perfect)

 Apple Store

 Time flew by and soon it was time to head home

 ...but not without another cup of coffee.