Five and ready to dive

Bubby loves the water. For several years now, my oldest grandson has taken swimming lessons.

He's enjoyed outdoor lessons:

And he's enjoyed indoor lessons:

What Bubby has not enjoyed was being restricted by Mommy and Daddy from jumping off the diving board on his own. Bubby has begged Mommy and Daddy again and again to be allowed to jump off the diving board like the big kids. Their response was always, "You'll get to do that when you're 5 years old."

Well, guess what? Bubby turned 5 years old this week.

Which meant the waiting was over!

The much anticipated dive attempt was planned for Bubby's official birthday.

So on Tuesday, Bubby's official birthday, a visit to the pool was the highlight of the day.

Bubby stepped right up, and he jumped right in:

Mission accomplished!

Another milestone met, another big-boy achievement checked off.

Today's question:

When did you last jump off a diving board?

Picture this: Thirty-one years!

Happy anniversary to my partner in crime grandparenting!

 

Today's question:

What has been your most memorable year of marriage so far?

Numbers that make up a life

The month of June is filled with dates of importance to my family, everything from birthdays to anniversaries to dates of gatherings and more.

Though many dates to remember and numbers to commemorate are marked on my June calendar, they're but a fraction of the dates that matter to me, to my family, just a few of the numbers that have made me who I am, for better or for worse.

Significant numbers — not all dates — roll easily off the top of my head and remind me where I came from, what I've gone through, what I have to be thankful for.

3.2

6.27

 3.10

6.19

8.18

6.10

3315

12.14

7.14

2129

7.9

8.3

1948

4.24

5.13

4396

6.22

11.16

1225

6.18

12.5

7.25

6.1

Jim is a numbers person. He works with numbers in his job. And he works with numbers outside of his job, too, manipulating them by adding, subtracting, dividing by a certain one to achieve another certain one that when added to two or three other meaningful digits result in the magical set of numbers that will, say, be the winning lottery numbers, the numbers that will add a six-figure number to the list above.

It hasn't happened yet, but who's to say it won't. Jim knows numbers, plays with them, finds comfort and answers in them.

I am not a numbers person. What I find in them, though, is this: When adding together all those I've listed above plus many others that don't roll so easily off the top of my head, the tip of my tongue, I come up with one — one lovely and amazing life that would not be the same if I were to subtract even just one single digit.

They're the numbers that count for this non-numbers person.

Today's question:

What are a few of the numbers that make up your life?

Picture this: Time flew, now he's 2

Mac celebrated his second birthday on Saturday.

Happy second birthday to my adorable and much-missed grandson No. 2.

Today's question:

June is a busy month for birthdays in our family. How many birthdays will your family celebrate this month?