Before you get all excited. I'm not thankful for biscuits today (although I do like biscuits--with or without gravy, with butter, and with jelly, or just plain right out of the oven). Today, I am thankful for parents of parents--or grandparents!

I have the memory of two sets of my own. When we went to Grandmother's house (my mom's mother) we slept on the floor, woke up early to hear Grandmother making breakfast (including biscuits!), we explored the barns and sheds, played in the pasture, and had general fun. Somewhere there's a picture of several of us posing around the little tin wagon that we built and then painted with red tempera paint (every time we played with it afterward the paint came off on our hands and clothes).

I recall the story of my farmer Granddaddy as he was getting older. My cousin who was helping on the farm at the time heard something out on the porch in the middle of the night. He looked out on the porch to find Granddaddy in his sleep attire and a rifle in his hands. "What is it, Granddad?" he asked.

"There's a blame deer in the corn," came the reply. At this point Granddad raised the .22 and shot out into the dark. Next morning my cousin and our uncle went out in the field in the direction of the shot and found blood drops! Apparently, there was a "blame deer" in the corn.

MawMaw and PawPaw loved having the family to their place for holidays. When we went to San Antonio for a visit we had holly berry wars, and played with my Dad's cousin's boys (especially "Andy across the street" who was our age and bore the same name as my youngest brother). PawPaw told really bad jokes--always the same jokes and always just as corny. Q: Why did they bury the old Indian in the side of the hill? Reply: I don't know, why did they bury the old Indian in the side of the hill? A: Because he was dead!

I'm also thankful for my children's grands. We live so far away from both sets of parents' parents that we only get to see them once a year (if that). We relish phone calls, letters and packages. And we are thankful that our children love our parents as much as they love us.

And finally, since we do live so far from our own parents, I am extremely thankful for the friends who have generously stepped in to fill that grandparent gap for our children. Thanks to all of you who love on our children as if they are your own grandchildren.