I think my post last week about what it would be like on Michigan’s Mackinac Island in winter, must have brought our snow storm this week in central NC. But then I guess I really can’t take credit for our snowfall that took the kids out of school for days and has left some shaded roads icy. I had the unexpected joy of keeping my grandsons, Baker 6 and Parks 4, for the day on Wednesday.

They have things they love at Grammy’s house: mushroom and cheese omelets, artwork, hide-and-seek, snacks, going outside, sandwiches and hot chocolate, and finally ice cream with all the toppings. It’s especially hard to fill Baker up as he’s growing so fast and will often say, “I’m so hungry.” Parks likes to sneak graham crackers and picks at his meal. He’d rather play with the cars and trucks they strew from the kitchen through the living room, making convoys of vehicles while I fix their food.

Late in the morning when the cold wasn’t so harsh, we bundled up and took the plastic lid they’d brought to see if we could find a snowy hill for sledding. It proved futile because the snow wasn’t deep enough or wet enough for snowballs. Instead, we focused on hiking in the nearby woods that they’ve never explored. I told them stories of how I loved walking over the snow-covered fields on our farm when I was a girl. They’d stop with me to observe the snow on the fallen trees that were near a deep creek bed. I can only imagine how deep it looked to their young eyes.

We found a footbridge over the creek that reminded us of the Troll Bridge in The Three Billy Goats Gruff story that I’d read to Parks’ Pre-K class last week.

“Let’s act that story out,” I suggested.

“Okay. I’ll be the Big Billy Goat Gruff,” Baker volunteered, the older brother wanting to be the first.

I did the voice of the troll and the middle goat while Parks agreed to go first as the smallest goat. Later, he enjoyed getting to be the Biggest goat. They got into it and wanted to do the play multiple times. I got into it because it was like we were playmates– instead of Grandmother and Grandsons.

Later, we returned to my house to eat lunch. They told me an account of being at their grandparents’ in Tennessee last weekend and going to an arcade. I asked them about the kinds of games they played.

“There was this Old Man and he was acting all crazy and doing the Chicken Dance!” Baker said and they both started giggling.

“He was old like a thousand year old Granny!” Parks said and looked at me, then he and Baker shook with laughter.

I was confused. Was there really an old man at the arcade or was he part of the game? I had no adult to provide a fact check.

“I remember the Chicken Dance. They did that at the skating rink when I took your Dad and Uncle to their cousin’s birthday party.”

The boys started flapping their arms and dancing around and I called out, “Alexa, play the Chicken Dance.”

She did and soon we were all flapping our wings and dancing around the kitchen. I felt young and old, knowing that I appeared ancient to my grandsons. It occurred to me that in two short months, on March 22, I will turn 70– one of those pivotal birthdays.

After they left, I remembered reading a book a couple of years ago by Thomas Moore– Ageless Soul: The Lifelong Journey Toward Meaning & Joy. I searched my box of books and found notes I’d written on index cards– sensing that I’d need them in the future. I thought of the contrast of feeling like a kid when we played on the Troll Bridge and reminded of my advancing years when compared to the Chicken Dance Man. This Moore quote from Part I on Rites of Passage is comforting:

“Sensing your Old Age and Your Youth at the same time is a signal that you’re aging well.

You can enjoy the Benefits of Both.”

There are days I’m more aware of growing older; those are the days of joint aches, decreased stamina, or a greater desire to hunker down and do nothing. But there are also times that I think I’m a young woman; when I’m dancing, dating, and enjoying friendly conversations with women who are much younger. I had a mix of feeling older and younger throughout my fourteen days on the Camino; That pilgrim path was the same for young and old travelers.

I had some rich hours of walking with a young woman on the Camino– Franzi the lawyer from Berlin. We shared so many similar stories of dating and navigating these times. Maybe she was just an Old Soul 🙂 She didn’t feel like a daughter or niece; she felt like a girlfriend with whom you could share secrets. There’s a second Moore quote that feels like it rings true for relating to Franzi and other friends of different ages:

“You are many Ages at the Same Time. Crossing through all these layers is a corresponding

law: There is something In You that Is Not touched by the Brush of Time.”

I’ll continue to return to Moore’s work— especially over the next two months as I climb to seventy. In the meantime, I’ll be a crazy Old Grammy with my grandsons and do the Chicken Dance or whatever else they want to do that brings us to laughter and times I hope they’ll long remember.

With Love and Best Wishes to You All– no matter Your Age 🙂

Connie