My head is practically spinning from all the "firsts" and "lasts" in my life right now! And, of course, there is the dynamic of the "firsts" and "lasts" that I don't even know about as I write this! There are a few "firsts" that I wish never to experience - if God would for me not to experience them: I've never had a broken bone, I've never been in a car accident (except the kind that happens in your own driveway with another car that you own), and I've never lost a parent. Those are "firsts" that anyone would want to live without!
Between October 19 - 24 of this year, there will be a first taking place in my life unlike any other - as I am hearing from "veteran" grandparents. My oldest daughter, Michelle, is 23 weeks pregnant with her own baby daughter! I remember looking at my daughters when they were younger and wondering what kind of mothers they would be one day. It seemed so far away at the time, but now....well, I can hardly absorb it! I find myself thinking about Christmas and the presence of a little two month old cooing somewhere under the Christmas tree (okay, that was sappy, but really! how cute would that be!) I think of next spring taking her, her mama, and her two proud, excited aunties to stroll down the streets of New York for a few days! I think of having my husband pull out the Jenny Lind crib which all three of our daughters slept in as babies, purchasing a new mattress, and setting up my own "Noni Nursery". I already have a rocking chair, will need a few more things for the nursery (sounds like I am planning on keeping her quite a bit, huh?)
Honestly, though, looking back over the years with my own grandmother, it is not the things that I will be able to give her that will be memorable and powerful in Layna's life- it is the gift of my time and my love: pure and simple. My grandmother took time with me. She took us places, cooked for us, talked with us, met our high school sweethearts, held us when we cried, and oohed and ahhed over every single messy picture we drew her.....she was embedded in my life up to the time she died in 2000.
My Grandma Horrell set the bar high and I choose to follow in her footsteps for my own grandchildren. So, whatever this new "role" in my life holds for me, Noni is ready and willing!! I'm not sure I've ever met this Noni that I'm becoming, but I'm pretty sure that I'll like her and will enjoy watching her grow into her role - almost as much as I watch my daughter grown into her role as a first time mother!
No comments:
Post a Comment