Yep, this is a staged picture. It is the jug of green sun tea I made today next to Viper’s stuffed squirrel, since we have no real squirrels of our own in my neighborhood. But it was as close as I could get to recreating the relaxing scene from the window of my grandparents back yard.

You see, as a kid, my grandparents lived in Goshen, Indiana (my grandma still lives there) and they had what they called a “squirrel gym.” There are LOTS of squirrels in Goshen, and the majority of them are jet black, and they were a friendly bunch too.

In the backyard my grandparents had the gym tied between two trees. It was basically a rope strung between the trees and with small buckets of peanuts and bells stun on other ropes attached to the main one. The squirrels, and I am not kidding about this either, would tightrope there way out to a bucket, hang upside down, and pull the bucket up to get a peanut. (They really could care less about the bells.) And they would eat it, either there upside down or head back to the tree to eat before going out on the gym to get more. It was fun to watch too.

In retrospect, I suppose that may be because there wasn’t much else to do, but even if there were video games and such back then, I’d bet I would still be watching the squirrels. I learned a lot from my grandparents, and one of those things was to take great joy in the simple things that God provides.

Viper’s stuffed squirrel coveting tea is perhaps not reality, but it does remind me of a simpler and important time in my life. I do not need a lot of stimuli and stuff to fill up my every waking moment. And tonight I thank God for an accidental, but meaningful memory. I may not have a squirrel gym, but I have a dog and he has a squirrel….albeit stuffed. But tonight it was enough to take me back. Thanks grandma and grandpa for the great times. And thank you God for reminding me of them tonight!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless.

Tommy+