Christian Living

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Larry Lilly's Letter Wednesday February 4, 2009

One of the great joys of my life is the family, beginning with the bride of my youth, Joyce, aka, The Great Blonde, the children, grandchildren and certainly the many and current dogs along the way. And as Joyce oft says, I really should have listened to her more.

Winston Churchill wrote:

"There is no doubt that it is around the family and the home that all the greatest virtues of human society are created, strengthened and maintained."

At the threshold of what many call the Golden Years, all I have around most of the time are the dogs, all three of them. Joyce comes in #2 and then the kids and grandchildren every now and then. I realized that I am giving the dogs too much access when the other day, a car drove by the house and I had a near irresistible urge to dash out the front door and give chase, with the three hounds of Cemar following close at my heels. Of course I overcame this powerful urge, but the fact that I experienced such was and is an eye opener.

In the springtime of the love of the Great Blonde and me, we would occasionally go on a vacation without the children. Trouble was about every natural or manmade wonder would cause a, "Oh, honey, the kids would love this!" And so having spied out the land, wonder, the following year, we would be back and spend a hallelujah happy time with the offspring of our passion. Most of the time we were smugly happy, down deep inside, that, yes sir, we had a grasp on what our kids really love. And we loved watching them enjoy what they loved.

We did miss it one year when at Christmas we returned to the gorgeous Winterthur Gardens in Delaware. Stupendous is an understatement for the beauty. Yet, Jon, our practical, athletic, now clergyperson son, at the time around nine, rushed up to us exclaiming, "Dad, all they have here is flowers." It would be several years before it dawned on any of the kids, that yes, all they have here is flowers, but they are the most perfect flowers in all the earth. Dawn remarked that she thought Huntley, our black, and white with a little tan, Bassett Hound would love the place as it would take him a month to "mark" out the place. (Actually she was more graphic, but hey, I am considering the sophistication level of you dear refined saints).

Huntley was a study himself. He had a glass eye, and a fiberglass jaw courtesy of the Veterinary School at Purdue University as a result of his being kicked in the face by a horse. What a site he was and the kids dearly loved him and he them. Both children were in college when Huntley passed on. We all cried as if one of us had crossed the river. When you think about it, one had.

Ah, the family. I sure miss the early days of ours. And just maybe this part will be as precious when remembered in coming years. I sure hope so.

Larry Lilly Copyright © 2009 Use with Credit.

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