Grandpa lost some of his face to cancer. The part that has known the most sun. The doctor took some skin from one place and put it on another. Grandpa is resting. Little people want to see. Mostly they want to know if it hurts. He says . . . oh, a little.

Kindness, charity and love came to our house all this week. Little girls and their mothers brought dinners. Young men, who had been taught to work, brought their muscles.

For love of Grandpa.

 

The lawn was mowed. The grass was poured into the garbage can and pulled to the road to be picked up in the morning. The pumpkin vines were pulled up and piled into another can and into big bags. The can was pushed up the hill and onto the road. Everything that was loose was piled up until the garden was as clean as a whistle.

 

How do children learn to work?  We all know the answer.

They learn by working with their parents. Side by side. They learn kindness and charity and love from their parents. When children are ready to help and jump right in and never complain, that is not an accident.

 

 

Next door, two little horses were waiting for carrots.

Grandpa left some carrots in the ground to feed the horses.

The children knew that the horses had been rescued and taken to an animal shelter before they lived next door. They looked so sad when they first came. Little children have hearts full of charity for people they love and especially for little, sad, animals.

 One little horse is black. The little one is white.

 

Last time the children visited, the little white horse wouldn’t come to the fence to eat. He stood back and was afraid. Today, he walked right over to Oli and took the carrot from her hand. She petted him on the nose. He licked her hand. She laughed and wiped it on her shirt.

“He’s better. He’s hungry !”

 

 

The little horses knew that they were loved. They let the children pet them on their noses and on their ears. They ate pieces of carrots off the palms of their hands. These little animals received charity, love and kindness . . . and carrots.

 

“Thank you,” said Grandpa, who had been lying down.

“What would I do without you?”

“You are hard workers and so kind to me.”

They smiled.

~

Snort, honk, moo. 

That is short for “you are welcome, Grandpa.”

“Thank you,” said Grandma.

(She especially loved the Kneaders salad.)