Time Flies

Today I am going to my great niece's first birthday party. I cannot believe how this year has flown. Last year at this time, we were anxiously awaiting the birth of the first great grandchild of the family. Now there are three. Last  year at this time, I did not know that I was going to be a grandmother. Now I have a granddaughter and a grandson. Some events this year were right on time. Some came so unexpectedly. I keep thinking of the saying "Life happens, while we are busy making plans". It is so appropriate. We were so busy planning for the new baby, never realizing that he had plans of his own. Today will be a day of celebration. It marks the first year of one child and the welcoming of another. Two people that will play an important part of my family history.

The Little Things

Sometimes little things make a big difference. My grandson is doing well, holding his own and growing hour by hour. He will be in NICU for a while. The isolette had his last name only on it, with the words "baby boy". After having it read this way for a day, my son spoke to the head nurse. He wanted the sign to say the baby's name, Luca Matteo. To my son, having the words baby boy, did not reflect the importance of this beautiful child. He asked the staff to refer to Luca by his name and not by the words "the baby". They have been doing it that way since and it means the world to my son. Just a little thing that makes a big difference.

A Gift From God

My grandson was born yesterday. He was 9 weeks early. He weighed 3lbs 9 oz and is 16" long. He is perfect. His middle name means "gift from God" and it suits him well. He looks like a porcelain doll. Every feature is beautiful but in a miniature size. We did not get to take the traditional family photo shoot with everyone holding him. The pictures we took are of ecstatic grandparents looking lovingly over a baby with tubes in him. I guess our eyes can play tricks on us, because when I look at him, the tubes disappear and all I see is his handsome face. I held his hand and he opened his eyes for a second and made a noise. He knows he is loved. He was born on the larger end of the spectrum for a 31 week baby so he has a good start. The doctors and nurses are all pleased at his progress. I will still pray every minute of the day that he grows quickly so he can come home soon. It took one second to fall in love with him. Love at first sight.

Common Bond

We are still waiting for the birth of our grandson. My daughter in law is in the hospital and will remain there until he arrives. They baby may come by this afternoon. My mind is racing and empty, at the same time. I will just go through the motions of the day until I hear the doctor say he is born and healthy.

The Waiting Game

My grandson is due on June 15th. His furniture was delivered yesterday. He wants to sleep in it right away. His mom went into labor this morning. Now we wait.........

Who Would Do Such A Thing?

Terrorism struck Boston yesterday. A happy event was turned into a horror show. A child was killed. People were injured and lost limbs. What has this world become? We are not safe in the streets of our own towns. This was an open air event and no matter how diligent the police and government agencies were, you cannot search every person that walks the streets. My family lives in the Boston area and thankfully no one was affected personally. I am sure that one family member was there to help, since he is a firefighter and paramedic in Cambridge, the town where people fled, in order to to find safety. Within a few days we will probably see the "perk walk", as the guilty parties are marched into the police precincts. We will hear about why they did this horrific act. We will hear about the "signs" that no one picked up on. Frankly, I do not care. If someone does a crime that kills, maims or hurts innocent people, there are no excuses. There does not need to be a long drawn out trial. Admit your guilt and rot in jail for the rest of your life. I am for the death penalty. You deserve the fate that you inflict upon others. An eye for an eye.

Stepping into Spring

The second official sign of spring is here. I am wearing shoes without socks. It may not seem like a big deal to anyone else, but it is to me. I have vivid memories of being in elementary school when winter turned to spring. In those days, girls were forbidden to wear pants to school, so we had to wear stockings with our dresses or skirts. For some reason, my mother was one of the last ones to allow her daughters to start to wear socks when the weather warmed up. I guess she did not want us getting a chill. On the first day that we were allowed to wear knee socks to school, I felt so free. Sometimes we put rubber bands around the top of the socks so they would not fall down. After school, when we took off the socks we had a fire red mark around our upper calf and it itched as the circulation returned to our legs. Even so, it was a great feeling of freedom. We looked towards the future, until they day we would be allowed to wear anklets. That would come in June.