First Meeting

This morning we are on our way to meet our little princess. She looks just like her big sister. It is surreal to have another granddaughter. Now that she is actually here, a whole new dynamic is taking place. My first granddaughter is now my older one. My grandson is now the middle one. They seem so old. When I brought home my younger son after he was born, I noticed his hands. I thought his older brother had small hands until the baby arrived. All of a sudden the hands that seemed small seemed huge. There was now a comparison. There would be a comparison forever. Who walked first. Who talked first. Every milestone had a predecessor. Even so, each child is one of a kind.

She's A Girl

At 6:19am my granddaughter was born. She arrived eight days early. She is a lucky girl to be born into a family that already loves her more than she can imagine, She is 8lbs 4oz and has light brownish hair. She has a wonderful sister that she will meet this afternoon. I will be going to New England tomorrow morning to hug and kiss her. My parents now have five great grandchildren, two boys and three girls. I am blessed.

Cinco de Mayo

Today is Cinco de Mayo, a day of celebration. Today is also the day that my parents return to New York after the winter season in Florida. I will be tracking the flight from work and then my sister and I will be picking them up at the airport. I am glad they will be home for a few months. It is hard not to see them as often when they are away. Now I can visit them on a weekly basis. Things are right on track now.

The Dentist

My granddaughter had her first visit to the dentist this week. My son sent me a picture of her sitting in the chair holding on to her Margaret doll. She sat like a little lady while her teeth were cleaned. She told me that Margaret also had her teeth cleaned. In the picture, the dentist was wearing a surgical mask and blue surgical gloves. This is the standard of this generation. I showed my husband the picture. He said that he has vivid memories of his dentist when he was a child. He remembers the smell of cigar smoke. As he sat in the chair, the dentist smoked a cigar. The smoke blew into the patient's face. That is what they did in those days. There was no sterile standard. No gloves, no masks, no HIPAA and no Novocaine. When they drilled, you writhed in pain and when it got to be too much you raised your hand for the dentist to stop. Our hand was the Novocaine. My dentist liked to tell jokes. If you told him that your gums bled in the morning when you brushed your teeth after you woke up, he told you to get a night job. Medicine at its best.

The Break Up

Yesterday I received mail from Citi Bank. It was from my credit card. Number 1375 was breaking up with me. It said we were no longer a good fit. I just think it was sour grapes. Good old 1375 was not meeting my needs anymore so I never went out with him. Since 4128 came along things were easier. 1375 was more demanding even though he had "interest". 4128 was more easy going. He had no "interest" but showed me love. If 1375 wanted me back, he had a year to woo me. He never did. He just hung in the background stewing in his own juices. Finally he got up the nerve and ended it. I am sure he will be back, just with another number.

May

It's May! The school vacation is over and now the teachers begin their countdown until the last day of school. There are no other jobs that have a yearly countdown. We just go to work each day on a never ending countdown. I get ten vacation days a year and six personal days. That's it. No ten weeks of summer. No Christmas, President's week or Easter week off. I never complain. We all know what our jobs entail when we apply for them so when my friends complain that it is hard working with children I am a bit confused. Did they think they were in the fashion industry? School means children. Maybe no one ever taught them that.

The Last Lobster

Last year we went to a Portuguese restaurant for our anniversary. When they gave us the menu choices for the day's specials they said that there was only one lobster left. My husband was really in the mood for a lobster so I told him to have it. I ate shrimp. We always joke about that. Last night for our anniversary we went back to the same restaurant. As we sat down we told the waiter about last year's problem and he laughed. He said that again they only had one lobster left for the night. To keep with tradition (and filtering in the fact that my husband is a big baby) I told my husband to have it. I ate shrimp. Next year we will call a day in advance to make sure they go fishing.