The hardest part of being a Grandfather
Twice in the last four days I have been to visit my new (my first) grandson, Jiah William Crimmins. First visit was on Sunday afternoon when Margot, Miriam and I drove up with my Dad and his wife Norma, to visit the Crimmins family while they were still at the Angliss Hospital in Ferntree Gully. The second visit was yesterday when Margot and I drove up my Mum to see them, in their home at Croydon.
This is hard to write about in some ways. I have to really explore and express my feelings, and like many Aussie Blokes, I am not terribly good at doing this.
Here is one simple regret. We did not get a picture, in either visit, of Jiah with his father, Leahannah's husband, Zane. We were so involved in getting photos of him with all of us, that we forgot about Zane. I am getting a bit teary as I write this, which I think shows that this really was a bad thing, that in a small way we didn't really acknowledge Zane.
Zane is a good husband and father. In saying that, I am very confident that he will not prove me wrong. There are some qualitities about him that indicate that he will be very good. He is very loving of Leahannah and just adores her. They have ony been married a month, so of course Jiah was conceived out of wedlock but I am so grateful that he was at least born in wedlock. So many young men in todays society would not have fully accepted the responsibility of fatherhood as Zane has done. So I am very appreciative of that.
But Zane (through no fault of his own) does not hold the priesthood. Unless I set a very good example and teach him about the Restored Gospel, he may never hold the priesthood. He may never know the joy of blessing his own wife and children, of baptizing them, of seeing them grow up and be worthy to attend the Temple. Ultimately he won't have his family sealed to him and enjoy the blessing of Eternal Life.
Zane has some heathen, earth worshipping beliefs, and it seems that Leahannah is following him. I remember when Leahannahs mother left the Church many years ago, I said to her that Leahannah may well end up a Hare Krishna. I think in saying that I was recognizing that with one parent a practising Mormon, and the other parent a practising anti-Mormon, Leahannah was bound to end up being a bit confused about religion. She said to me a little while ago that if she followed her mother she would feel like she was rejecting me and vice versa. Which is understandable and in some ways shows the love and respect she has for both Kaye and I.
So it is not too hard to see why Leahannah is now following Zanes beliefs, and in many ways that's a good thing. It should mean that they are united, that they are both heading in the same direction, and that is a good thinig in any marriage. The question is perhaps, is there any foundation to their beliefs? Is is a house built upon sand?
This is hard to write about in some ways. I have to really explore and express my feelings, and like many Aussie Blokes, I am not terribly good at doing this.
Here is one simple regret. We did not get a picture, in either visit, of Jiah with his father, Leahannah's husband, Zane. We were so involved in getting photos of him with all of us, that we forgot about Zane. I am getting a bit teary as I write this, which I think shows that this really was a bad thing, that in a small way we didn't really acknowledge Zane.
Zane is a good husband and father. In saying that, I am very confident that he will not prove me wrong. There are some qualitities about him that indicate that he will be very good. He is very loving of Leahannah and just adores her. They have ony been married a month, so of course Jiah was conceived out of wedlock but I am so grateful that he was at least born in wedlock. So many young men in todays society would not have fully accepted the responsibility of fatherhood as Zane has done. So I am very appreciative of that.
But Zane (through no fault of his own) does not hold the priesthood. Unless I set a very good example and teach him about the Restored Gospel, he may never hold the priesthood. He may never know the joy of blessing his own wife and children, of baptizing them, of seeing them grow up and be worthy to attend the Temple. Ultimately he won't have his family sealed to him and enjoy the blessing of Eternal Life.
Zane has some heathen, earth worshipping beliefs, and it seems that Leahannah is following him. I remember when Leahannahs mother left the Church many years ago, I said to her that Leahannah may well end up a Hare Krishna. I think in saying that I was recognizing that with one parent a practising Mormon, and the other parent a practising anti-Mormon, Leahannah was bound to end up being a bit confused about religion. She said to me a little while ago that if she followed her mother she would feel like she was rejecting me and vice versa. Which is understandable and in some ways shows the love and respect she has for both Kaye and I.
So it is not too hard to see why Leahannah is now following Zanes beliefs, and in many ways that's a good thing. It should mean that they are united, that they are both heading in the same direction, and that is a good thinig in any marriage. The question is perhaps, is there any foundation to their beliefs? Is is a house built upon sand?
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