Words alone cannot express the joy I feel for this time of being immersed in the world of our grandchildren. It has long been the belief that vacations enable pastors to become better pastors. Experiences away from the pulpit and the parish provide perspective. Recreation provides renewal. It is important to the long-term relationship between the pastor and parish for there to be occasional breaks and time away. Like people in other vocations, we tend to immerse ourselves in our work, putting in long days and not always being attentive to days off. We work on weekends, so do not have the same kind of schedules with “long weekends” that are a part of some other jobs. So vacations are important to maintain balance and energy for the long haul.

We have had some wonderful vacations over the years - traveling to beautiful places, visiting national parks, enabling our children to visit some of America’s great cities, and more. It seems, however, that the experience of being with our grandchildren is one of life’s greatest pleasures and most wonderful adventures.

I’m learning that there are some very important lessons that grandfathers learn best when taught by grandchildren.

For example, I had to be reminded that a puddle is not an obstacle to be avoided, but an opportunity to be seized. It turns out that grandfathers are every bit as waterproof as little boys and that riding bikes through puddles is as much fun when you are 62 as they are when you are 4. But there are many 62-year-olds who have forgotten this. We take great pain to keep clean and to avoid getting wet. We ride around the puddles and when we can’t avoid them, we slow down to minimize the splash. I have fenders on my bike to keep my clothes clean when riding. I had forgotten the joy of a stripe on the back of my shirt from the mud and water along the way. In general, it isn’t that big of a deal to change your clothes and start fresh. Some days take more changes than others.

A similar rule applies to bumps and cracks in the pavement, sticks that have fallen onto the roadway, wide places where you can ride in a circle, paths through the grass alongside the pavement and other possibilities of riding a bicycle in ways that are different from just going straight down the road. And looking for all of these opportunities means that you don’t always look straight ahead.

The bike ride, after all, isn’t about reaching a destination. It is about enjoying the trip.

The same applies to travel in a canoe. I had forgotten that paddles are incredibly great devices for making splashes. And with the leverage of a paddle, you can make a really big splash. A double paddle allows for splashing on both sides of the boat. I’ve spent years working on my technique for efficient paddling. I know how and when to apply a forward stroke, a draw, a brace, a pry. I can execute a J-stroke all day long and I can paddle silently through calm waters when photographing birds. I had forgotten how much fun it is to make a big splash and to just enjoy the water flying.

As I stated previously, it turns out that grandpas are as waterproof as boys.

Laughing and giggling are fun to do just because they are fun. You don’t need a reason to laugh. the pleasure of the experience is sufficient. It turns out that grandfathers enjoy laughing as much as one-year-old granddaughters. Making silly faces is a lot of fun if it makes you - or someone else laugh. A hand puppet can provide great entertainment for a car trip if someone else is taking care of the driving. In my sometimes too busy life, I forget how important it is to just express joy. I forget how good it is for the people around you. Just giggling is a very pleasant way to invest some of your time.

Another lesson. It is wonderful to be an upright creature that walks and sees things from a vertical perspective, but it is also a good thing to get down on the floor and look up. Or to lie in the grass gazing at the trees. Or to crawl on all fours to see what is under the table. People are made for walking, it is true, but we are also made for rolling about on the ground and wrestling with one another. Gentle touch is fun and looking at things from new perspectives is enlightening.

You can discover things you’d forgotten about if you get down to look for a small rubber ball that tends to roll into the most obscure places.

Operating at the edge of control means that there will be spills and falls. Bruises occur from time to time. Avoiding injury isn’t the only goal in life. Riding bikes fast is fun because it feels fun to take a little risk. Climbing high in trees is fun because you can check out the edge of danger. Safety is important. We wear helmets and always remember to buckle our seat belts. But living fully is equally important. And you can’t live fully without taking a few reasonable risks. We’re pretty resilient creatures. And when we get old a few aches remind us that we are alive.

One last note. I have taken hundreds of photographs of our grandchildren on this trip. I have thousands of each. I especially enjoy the full-face shots that capture their expressions. However, I am careful with our grandchildren and with all of the children we meet, not to be the creator of their Internet presence. Their images are not mine to publish. While I like to capture the mood of our experiences, I shy away from printing pictures that show too many identifying features. They will grow up in a social network world and create their own Internet presence in their own time. Perhaps I am a bit paranoid. No worries, protecting the little ones is part of our responsibility. Ask me to see pictures of my grandchildren when we are together face-to-face.

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