Today Layna turns 2. The strange thing about that is I can vividly remember how just a few years ago - Layna's mommy was two! How can time be so fleeting? But it stops for no one....not even for grandmothers.
Simply put, even in the midst of a full and busy life, I know that I have the pleasure and privilege TO TAKE TIME with my granddaughter. When we have our Layna-Noni days - usually on Fridays, I have no other agenda but to enjoy Layna. The dishes pile up in the sink. The laundry remains in its piles on the floor. Toilets don't get scrubbed. And if I go to a store, it is to buy a toy and nothing else. That is the privilege of being a grandparent. Her basic needs are taken care of by her amazing parents, Michelle and Frank. I simply get to laugh, kiss, play, sing, snuggle, giggle, swing, and walk with little Layna. God is a MASTER ENGINEER in this thing called life! Being a parent is one of the highest and most rewarding callings that I know and I am blessed by the most incredible daughters ever born! But a grandparent? I am not sure that I can even define what was in God's mind when He designed the strategic tier of family. But I like it. I like it a lot! Grandparents surely add the icing to the top of the yummy cake. We are the jelly in a peanut butter sandwich. We are the white stuff in the middle of the oreo. We are the extra change found in a pocket of jeans. We are the old, well-used tattered blanket that brings so much comfort into a child's world.
So, today, I will celebrate Layna - being sure to thank God for the blessings that she has brought into my life for these two very short years! She opened a door in my heart that I never knew was there. She flung it wide open with her first beautiful breath and it can never ever close again. It stands opened, ready, and waiting for the next one and the one after that and the fourth, the fifth...and will not be satisfied until it has welcomed all the precious, amazing creatures deemed to be my grandchildren!!!
Ah, Layna! You've taught me so much in your two short years. Reminding me that some of the most important things are the little things like dancing a jig, making up a silly song, crawling around on the floor, eating outside on a blanket, taking a walk to get the mail, listening to your breathing as you sleep. Let's keep learning and laughing and loving and...yes, even breaking the rules! :)
I can't wait until Friday and another Layna-Noni day to enjoy!
Happy birthday, my sweet sweet girl!
