Talking to your grandchildren has to be one of the sweetest blessings on earth. This conversation? Not so much. My text to Logan, my college-student grandson, began with this: “Hi Logan. I’ve been thinking about you. How are things going?”
Within a few seconds, he responded: “Who tf is this?”
“Tf”? “TF”? Perhaps it was a typo. Yes, that’s it, and an embarrassing one at that. Cell phones are known to do that. An apology would be forthcoming. “Mammy,” I answered.
Within seconds I received his answer: “Whay T”
Perhaps his fingers were off by one key. I checked. They would have to be off by an entire keyboard for this to make sense. Maybe a friend had his phone. But why would he pick friends like this? My mind splattered into worry-overload. There was only one explanation. He’s on drugs. Oh, dear Lord!!! This sweet, Christian boy/man had succumbed to the temptation of the Colorado (i.e., marijuana is legal) state and was stupiding his brain cells.
I texted, “What???” and immediately received his answer: “Whats (sic) your name?”
He was too stoned to recognize his own grandmother. I needed a Xanax.
“Okay. Is this Logan Green?” my fingers groaned.
Answer: “no its not who tf is this this is logan Haughton.” (sic)
“Lord, have mercy,” I said aloud. I read this not a few times, and, having no clue who “logan Haughton” is, answered: “I am Logan Green’s grandmother. So sorry I bothered you. Obviously this is a wrong number because my grandson would never use tf.” Then, re-reading my critical, self-righteous remark, added, “God bless you.”
His answer was a shocker: “Its ok I was confused for a sec God bless you to.” (sic)
This conversation was not over. Now it was my turn. “You have made me curious. I have no idea how your number ended up in my phone book, but I appreciate your blessing. Do you normally answer with a “tf” response?”
“No,” he texted, “im (sic) a son of god! I was just really scared kida (sic) just because I didn’t know who was texting me”
“So you’re a Christian?”
“Yes.”
Now it was this grandmother’s turn to share some of her ageless wisdom. “Oh, I am so glad to hear that. Please know that everything you say and write needs to be a reflection of your love for the One who paid a great price for your (and my) sins. Never forget that.”
Logan’s reply? “Ok thank u for sharing that”…to which I responded, “I will pray for you, Logan Haughton, for the rest of your life.”
Our texts ended with Logan writing, “Thank you soo much.”
Once I made the correction in my contact list, I had a sweet text conversation with my real grandson, Logan Green.
He has no idea how close I came to jumping on a plane to Colorado to smack him upside his head.