JOYMOUNTAIN

Mimi & Big Daddy’s House

The mornings at Mimi & Big Daddy’s house are filled with donuts, Irish music, the sound of the grinder on the coffee machine, Sassy begging for a ball, Big Daddy’s teases and Mimi’s laughter.  

We do not have to eat healthy Mimi says when we are at their house.   We eat pop tarts with sprinkles for breakfast and sometimes there is a big box filled with different kinds of donuts.  We usually pick the one with chocolate and sprinkles.   We eat nachos and pizza and Big Daddy tells us we can just have ice cream for dinner as long as we eat it all!   He makes us hot chocolate and teases about stories of the big pig head on the wall in his office upstairs.  He tries to make us grandkids believe stories of his pig hunting days.  We all know he is just kidding.   We keep an eye on it though when we go up to watch a movie or sit at his desk to watch him work…just in case that ole pig wants to take revenge on us kids.   

Mimi has a craft room and she lets us grandkids make anything we want.  We create gifts for everyone and fill up a decorated paper sack to take home to show them off.  Mimi tells us stories about our parents and shows us pictures of them when they were little.  We learn a lot about our folks and marvel that they were once boys and girls like us and especially how much Mimi & Big Daddy love them and are proud of them.  They tell us that too..  One thing you know at Mimi & Big Daddy’s is that you are loved.  She also tells us about the world.  Things we didn’t know.  We pull out picture books and talk about them.  They have a zillion!  Mimi has several globes of the world and she shows us the places where they have traveled and us too!   We look at pictures that were taken in those far away places and imagine great adventures.

Walking down to the mailbox is a kid privilege.  Not just anybody has permission to do that.  You have to be a grandkid of Mimi and Big Daddy.  Important stuff comes in that mail box. You learn right away that in the afternoon you get to walk down to the mailbox with Sassy and be the one to bring it in the house.   Sassy runs around and Mimi says she has to mark the front yard to tell the other animals this is her home and to stay away.   That means she goes potty in the yard but it’s ok Mimi says.  God made it that way.    

 In the back yard is a big covered house for Big Daddy’s grill.  It is like the king’s palace.   Us grandkids get to help Big Daddy with the grilling. We put on a special apron and there are big gloves.    We talk to him and he lets us watch it and help him cook and sometimes we look in the special drawers with a lot of important stuff.   Helping Big Daddy cook is a very important job.   In the kitchen Mimi lets us help her cook too.   We make cookies or stir stuff.  We get to lick the bowl and the spoon where the batter was.  There is always important work to do at Mimi & Big Daddy’s house.  

Mimi likes to tell us about all the mourning dove that live in her trees.  They call out in the mornings and we like to listen to them.  She says they are gentle creatures and we must be kind to them and not scare them.   She says God lets them live in the trees of kind people.  That makes it an important responsibility…like being kind to Sassy.  You have to be kind to God’s creatures Mimi says.   Big Daddy likes to tease Sassy.  I think he would tease the mourning dove too if Mimi would let him.   I think God made her the protector of creatures and small people like us.   Big Daddy would protect us too….but we keep an eye on our old Big Daddy.  

At night Big Daddy lets us pick a special movie and we make pop corn with a pound of butter and eat it all up.  Mimi tucks us in and reads us stories and listens to our prayers.   She stays up really late cleaning and reading so we feel safe at their house.  

We think God lives at Mimi & Big Daddy’s house.  There are signs that He does all around.  They talk about Him all the time too just like He is there.  You can tell God is pretty important and a part of the family.   That makes Him a part of our family too and part of all of us. 

  Sometimes Mimi says they might move to another house.  Us grandkids all holler real loud and say not to move!  We love their house!  It smells like coffee and biscuits, filled with happiness, laughter, and most of all,  Mimi & Big Daddy.

“All that I am is because of you Lord- I will listen with my heart as you softly touch my soul."