Heaven on Earth

Last week I was feeling losery for living here in Palisade, where I've grown up since age four, when my parents built their house together on East Orchard Mesa.  Like I should be going somewhere better or something?  We spend MASSIVE amounts of time up at my parents house with the girls.  On Sunday, we went up late in the afternoon so that Granny YaYa and Grandpa could watch the girls while Andrew and I went for a run together.  We walked in the back door, Francesca sat down on the stairs to remove her boots, hat and coat and in a dreamy whisper, she said, "This is beautiful music."  I watched as she tiptoed up the stairs and on tiptoe, ran around looking for Granny.  I saw how she is transformed by her Granny.  Granny's house is a wonderland for Francesca and Cecilia.  It is a refuge of love and happiness.  Any of my feelings of loser-y-ness were quickly dashed, watching the girls discover Granny, sitting at her sewing machine downstairs, sewing them each a "shopping bag" out of Grandpa's old Levi's.  Cecilia quickly stuffed her Happy Birthday Baby into her bag and pulled the strap over her head to make a baby carrier.  Francesca began filling hers up with anything she could find to take home because we ALWAYS leave Granny's house with more than we came with.  Raffi's "Let's Play" CD and the song, "It Takes a Village," song is in heavy rotation over here.  The song begins, "What does it take for a baby girl, to grow up full of love?  What does it take for a baby girl?" And then the chorus kicks in, "It takes a village, it takes a village to raise a child, no one can do it alone.  It takes a village to raise a child."  Yeeaaahhh!  Sniff, sniff . . . gosh I love it here!