YIPPEE! I now have THREE grandchildren! Which seems impossible since I'm so ... young! LOL Isn't three or more grandkids something really old people go on and on about? Well, here I am.
Son Two and his wife welcomed a beautiful little boy into the world on August 1st, their first child. He was in no hurry. On July 30, 8 days past his due date, the med team decided to induce, so my son and DIL went to the hospital that evening. The process commenced. I won't go into all the details. I wasn't there and in the re-telling they admitted that time sort of expanded and contracted in weird ways through the next 27 hours until he was finally born at 1:19 a.m. on August 1. He weighed in at exactly 8 pounds, 20 inches long, healthy and strong. Whew!
We got to see him mid-morning the day of his birth and holding him was surreal. It has literally been 10-1/2 years since I held a newborn (my granddaughter) and I was a Nervous Nelly. I've always prided myself on being pretty comfortable with babies, but I've lost a step in confidence, I guess. But the joy of looking into his beautiful little face and examining his fingers and toes and ears and nose -- the miracle of this new life of possibility is not dimmed. I weep with happiness, relief, and anticipation of getting to know him -- what he will like, what will make him happy (or angry), hearing his laugh, watching him grow and learn and be part of our family.
When we had a Family Dinner with everyone together for the first time it was such a moment to see the joy on every face, the tears of thankfulness in every eye, as we took turns holding him and caring for him and hearing "new parents" stories again. My oldest granddaughter will be 16 in two weeks; her sister is 10-1/2. We are starting over with a big gap in between and I already know this time it will be different.
Son One and family live 10 minutes from us. When the girls were little we saw them often. In fact Hub and I did childcare for our younger granddaughter from 3 months to nearly 3 years old. There were weekly family dinners and lots of sleepovers and many times of babysitting. We still go to sports and school events often. We chauffeur them to camps and take day trips and and do outings on a whim.
Son Two and his new family live 30 miles away along a heavily trafficked route that slows down what would generally be not too bad a drive, so popping in on each other is not so common. My plan is to somehow see them weekly but they are very busy with jobs, a new home, a ton of friends, a social life that is non-stop (although the new little guy might put a crimp in that eventually). They already have childcare lined up for when they go back to work. School and sports events down the line will not be so easy to pop in on and most visits will have to be planned in advance. We can adjust. It will just be different and I am grateful, at least, that we all live in the same area instead of in a different state with visits being only a few times a year, which was the case for my parents and my kids. I get it now why my mom cried when I told her we were moving 2000 miles away from them. I can't imagine...
I also realize Hub and I are in a different place in life too. We are working toward probably selling our big home in a couple of years and moving to a retirement community. Unlike our granddaughters who consider this their second home, this new little guy will not even remember it. But he will have other memories of Grandma/Grandpa time in a cool place with a restaurant where he can order anything he wants, explore a nature trail in the woods, visit the workshop where grandpa will make him toys, and he can go swimming in a huge swimming pool. There will also be a zillion "grandparents" doting over him. LOL
Life changes. This time around will be different. But what doesn't change is the overwhelming joy of seeing our family expand and the bittersweet recognition that I won't be around to see the end of my grandkids' stories. But if my love for them can inform any part of who they become, my life purpose will be fulfilled. Because that is what I am learning in my "Wise Woman Years" -- it's all about the love.
At least, that's the view from here...©
Photo Credit: www.pixabay.com
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