Strangest question I was asked , twice, today: “Mom did, Grammie ever swallow  pencil?”

(And you want to know this, dear,  because….????)

“No, MaryAnne.  Grammie never swallowed a pencil”

“I mean the other Grammie, the one that lives far away.  Did she ever swallow a pencil?”

“No, your great-Grammie never swallowed a pencil either, MaryAnne.”

Other hard questions were asked,  including and not limited to, “do you love the Dog”, (as I refer to it), “as much as you love each of us?” (that is, each of my children).  And, as my answer was “no, I do not”, hence the question, “why not?”  Oh, the limitless unponderables in one’s life.

Now, I am afforded the time for reflection on a day in the life of one who cannot usually find the joy, and yet here it is, in a child’s question.  A silly, little question with no reason for asking, and no reasonable answer for giving.  Yet, it makes me smile that my child has asked me, twice, if her grandmother has ever swallowed a pencil.

I am making beds this cold January morning when it occurs to me that joy is an act, not a feeling.  When I do something to make positive change in my life, I feel joy.  That act of doing can be different for each individual, but it is the act of doing that brings the joy.  For me, it is writing down the funny parts of my day.  Sometimes, there is only one thing that I find funny, and even coming up with one is a struggle.  But, in finding the humour, I am able to stir up joy.  This is what joy is all about, I believe.  In rejoicing, we are actually offering God the opportunity to stir up within ourselves that which truly brings us joy so as to re-create that joyfulness the Bible says we are to always exhibit. Rejoice evermore.  And so, I will write about the funny bits of my day.  Including, and not limited to, thoughts on grandmothers and swallowed pencils.