..children and grandchildren..

..children have a way of growing up..into adults: like pakmat once was..and you can no more straddle them over your shoulders, reaching out for that jambu fruit growing in your garden near the fence...they are not anymore the 3-year old they were once...they do not anymore pee on your lap..or cry and wail at the prospect of being left behind...no, they do not do all those things anymore..for yesterdays came and go and suddenly they are parents themselves..in their late thirties, early forties...and you casually past seventy..

..you turn to their children, to rekindle memories of those times..grandchildren are like flashcards..stripping and streaking through the barriers of your memory...tiny fingers curled yours..tiny toes kick your heart into a gooey mess...father and grandfather merge and become one...

..you sit back and watch as your children goes through the throes of parenthood...and you are glad..your faith in Him restored...for to each, his time...

..bestow upon them, Lord, Your bounty..
..and
..guide them, to the straight path..
..the path of those You have bestowed Your favour..
..not of those who have evoked Your anger..
..or of those who are astray..


..