Gramasylum Dividends Take Two

I tried to write and post this blog when I was on vacation last week using my IPhone and skethcy internet connections. I could not get the pictures to load properly. So I am reposting this blog with the pictures that helped to inspire it.

I love it when my grandchildren are excited to see me. I love it when they ask me when I am coming to get them or when they are coming to my house. I love it when they do not want to leave my house and fuss when I am leaving their houses. I love that they like being with me. But there is another relationship that for some reason resonates even more deeply for me. It is their relationship with each other. Gramasylum is not all about me.

Laurel (LoLo) is four and Kasen (Kaso) is three. They do not live in the same community. Laurel lives an hour south of us. Kasen lives about two hours north of us. But we work hard to be together and they see each other at least once a month and usually for two or three days at a time. They know each other well. Whenever I talk to Kasen on FaceTime, first thing he always asks, "Is LoLo there?" And when I talk to LoLo on FaceTime it is the same. She always asks, "Is Kaso there?" They love being together. Oh sure, they fuss and fight over toys sometimes. And, they can be jealous when I give my attention to the other on occasion.  But the great majority of the time they are running and playing and laughing and making a full scale mess of our condo. And I love it. I love that they love each other. Kasen is a little more expressive of his feelings and so often initiates the love fest. Unsolicited and unencouraged by adults Kasen will just say, "I love you LoLo." And usually, not always, Laurel will reciprocate and say, "I love you Kaso." Even if her lips don't say it her tight hugs do.

Witnessing this cousin love stirs something deep inside my heart. Perhaps it is knowing that this relationship will likely long outlast their relationship with me. They will be together long after I am gone. I hope and pray they stay friends, playing and laughing together, fighting, yes, but also loving each other. I hope and pray that through the awkward preteen years, the challenging and oh so character shaping teen years, and whatever young adulthood brings their way, they will continue to ask, "Is LoLo there?" and "Is Kaso there?" I hope they will be friends and that they will always love each other. In this way my crazy love for them will live on way beyond my lifetime. My time as a resident of Gramasylum is an investment that will reap dividends for years, perhaps generations, to come.