Little things

This little thing is our 21 month old grandson Braden at the Wimberley house during our Christmas break adventure. That little football he's about to launch at me doesn't seem so little when he sets it free about a foot away from me. I used one hand to cover my face and another to cover more important things. Still, he can get away with that and more, anytime he wants.

Other little things in the picture include an electrical outlet and the doorway to the master bedroom still under construction, but those didn't seem too important at the time.

And here's a little ditty that gets me misty eyed as the new year approaches every year. Something about the warm comfort of a big family get-together, and the sense of identity and place that goes with it. Reminds me of my childhood holidays at my grandparents' place, although grandmom was known more for chicken and dumplings than crumbcake.

"Hazel's House" from the album Vuelta by Richard Shindell:

There’s a two-lane county road in northern Jersey
Winding up a hill beside a lake.
Just before the road winds to an end
Is Hazel’s house.

Long white picket fence around the front yard
A wagon wheel someone made into a gate.
Flagstone steps will lead you to the front door
Of Hazel’s house.

And Hazel will have seen you from the window
She’s waiting for you as you climb the steps.
She says, “Thank God, we were starting to get worried.
Come on in.”

It’s New Year’s and the place is overflowing
Cousins, aunts and uncles gather round.
“How long has it been? It’s good to see you.
How you’ve grown.”

And the uncles all have one eye on the Rose Bowl
One by one they slink back to the den.
Everybody else heads for the kitchen
You go with them.

She always has the crumbcake at the ready
Today is no exception - there it is.
The order of the universe intact
At Hazel’s house.

And no one seems to know that this is heaven
They say we only know it by and by.
That someday all will be revealed
Well, here it is:

There’s a two-lane county road in northern Jersey
Winding up a hill beside a lake
Just before the road winds to an end.
Hazel’s house

Go on in.