Cest la vie

What a great day! My granddaughter and her boyfriend came up with the baby, my daughter and her husband and my grandson were here, and I had a nice long chat with our son. We ate pasta and salad and cake, and i got to rock the baby to sleep. What is more satisfying that rocking back and forth with a baby on your shoulder? I covered her with a blanket and she slept for about an hour. What a joy!
Yesterday I got a chance to make a difference to a distracted Mom and I hope I helped her a little. I had been doing some last-minute shopping at the supermarket and stood in line ahead of a stressed-out Mom who was shrieking at her two little daughters and shaking the older one back and forth roughly. I stopped, put my arms around the little girl, and spoke to the Mom in a quiet voice. "I know it's hard. Sometimes it seems as though it will never get better. But time will pass and one day you will be an old lady like me, with your children grown, and with grandchildren and great-grandchildren of your own, and you will look back and say 'It was hard. But it was worth it.' Her face crumpled and tears ran down her cheeks, and my eyes filled with tears. I understood how she felt. We have all lost control from time to time. I know I did, and if I could go back and do it over again, I would. But that cannot be. We can only do the best we can now.
'That is one of the great benefits of being a very senior citizen. We can say and do almost anything! After all, what can the younger generation do to us? They can only shrug, smile and say Cest la vie!