Paca.

On my day off this week I had lunch with my grandparents. Shortly after lunch my grandma left for a bible study at church and so it left my grandpa and I to chat. I call my grandpa Paca. Its an old dutch word for grandpa. He doesnt even seem like a grandpa to me, he's a paca.

Shortly after my grandma's leaving, he motiond me to the cookie jars full of cookies my grandma had made recently. I walked over to take one and asked if he wanted any, and he said "Oh yeah, better just bring the jars over here." So I did. And there Paca and I sat, across the kitchen table, sneaking our hands into giant old pickle jar size cookie jars eating cookies and chatting away a cold winters day.

Moments like these are getting fewer and further between. When I was young I wanted nothing to do with these moments, dreading the lengthly history chats with Paca, hoping I would be able to sit still and be respectful long enough, thinking of a reason why I might need to leave in order to end the chat sooner rather then later. Now I fight for the time to go there.

I've realized as I've gotten older that there's something about these chat's that speaks deep into my soul, and soothes all aches or concerns life has tossed my way. We chatted about his time in Europe during the war, and what the Catholics are up to (He lives on the corner next to a fairly happenin Catholic church). He talked about a recent book he was reading and how it was challenging him. I told him about church and a new small group, work, and the recent book I finished. I layed out the potential for the next year of my life, and let him work his way though it. He told me how to look at the opportunites, and really look at them..pray, and really pray. And how to tell my parents about them when it came time, and how he'd help them understand.

All this while taking turns dipping into the cookie jar, and no one was around to stop us.

Paca is probably one of the wisest people I know. He takes every situation and learnes from it, and uses it when he comes across a simmilar situation. He stands up for whats right, even in the face of adversity. When he speaks, I listen, because I know its something well thought out, something true an right.

Someday I hope to have half the knowledge he has.


I must have eaten a dozen cookies that day, but it was a beutiful afternoon.