Dear Grandchildren:
Wow! Our family is growing! Three new babies and two new husbands joining our family. How exciting! How wonderful!
Congratulations to you all especially to you, new grandparents. You’re going to enjoy your new role. I’ve always said, if I had known grandchildren were so wonderful, I would’ve treated their parents better.
How about great, great-grandmother, Elsa Freeman? She turned 95 on the 10th of January, and she can only praise God for all the family she helped bring into this world. It all began with her and Wayne back in 1941. By the way, Wayne passed away 11 years ago this month on the 3rd.
Think about it! 95 years! Her father, Frank Polasek, lived to be 105. But getting back to Elsa, she was born in 1921 on the family farm near Chesaning, Michigan. She often tells us that same year her father bought his first car, a Ford. He traded his buggy for that Ford, and brought it home on Mom’s birthday, January 10th, 1921. Mom also said that her parents didn’t learn to drive the Ford until spring and her mom learned to drive by driving the car in the field.
Mom, along with her one brother and two sisters, attended a one-room schoolhouse with one teacher for all grades. Mom had that teacher for eight years. Most of the ethnic kids who attended the school learned how to speak English there. Mom’s family came from Czechoslovakia, so they spoke Bohemian around their family and that was the case for many families.
Well Mom, you did pretty well for yourself. You raised three amazing children (in my opinion), and look at all those wonderful grandchildren and great, grandchildren. Wow! We are all so proud of your life and your accomplishments especially being there for your family.
Here’s a personal question. Well, before I ask you that question, can we agree that having a healthy, close-knit family is first all about having good relationships together? Right? Someone once said, the only thing we take to our grave is our relationships and our memories.
Yes, whether it’s in a marriage, or in a family, or in a business, or in a church, the key to how healthy and successful they will be is determined by how healthy their relationships are.
Here’s my question. How much effort are you giving to building healthy relationships with the people in your life? We can all work on having better relationships with one another, for we all benefit from good, healthy relationships.
I couldn’t help myself but I need to share one final comment. From the beginning of time, God has one thing that He desires from all human beings. A relationship! Yes, a relationship with the people He created.
The bottom line in all of life is normally centered on our relationships. Whether it’s in our personal life, in our business, or our spiritual life, our connection with others is very important. So my challenge to all of us is to work together to improve and protect our relationships with one another.
In closing, happy birthday Elsa and happy birthday to Grandma Sandy who had a birthday on the 22nd.Congratulations to the new marriages and to the new babies coming this year.
Until next month,
Love,
Grandpa