The last time I was here, in mid-January, we were a few days away from having our oldest son and his family (including seven of our grandchildren!) arrive from Wisconsin to spend the last week of the month visiting us (and also the three brothers’ families who live near us in VA). Grandchild #23, our youngest son’s second daughter, was due on Feb. 8, and we were planning to head to Nashville a few days ahead of that due date to be in place to help out and take care of their almost-2-year-old. The timing between our firstborn's visit and our trip to our baby's house was going to be close, but it looked like it was going to work out perfectly.
We had a great week with our Wisconsin Pearls, including a family get-together with four of our boys and their wives and children, minus one D-I-L and two wee grandsons. (We resorted to Chipotle catering, because Grammy was feeling a bit daunted by the prospect of cooking for almost 30 people, while simultaneously having nine people staying with us for the week!)
Son #1 isn't a fan of showing his kids' faces on the Internet (which I totally respect), so those are the only two photos I'll share from that visit. But I think they tell the story of how much these cousins enjoy each other's company--and how they can make fun happen wherever they happen to be, even in our relatively small house with its relatively small yard.
Our oldest son and his gang left VA to head back home on Jan. 29, and little #23's older sister had been born about a week past her due date, via induction, so we figured no problem—it seemed safe to believe that she was probably at least a week away from making her appearance. The timing was going to be about as close to ideal as it could be. We would get all the beds remade and the house cleaned up, pack our bags, and be ready to start our road trip to son #5’s house within a few days’ time, arriving well before baby. Our plans were set.
But if you want to hear God laugh, tell Him your plans! I woke up at 6:30 a.m. on the 30th to this text from our son (which he’d sent at about 2:30):
“Looks like baby’s coming early. _______ is about 5.5 cm dilated.”
Hoo boy! We had already committed to watching son #3's youngest child that afternoon (thinking no way would our presence be needed in Nashville quite this soon!) while he and his wife were with one of their girls, who was scheduled to have an oral surgery procedure. I texted son #5 to see if we should try to find a replacement to watch his little nephew so we could hit the road ASAP, but he assured us that his firstborn daughter was being well cared for by a beloved and trusted friend, so we could keep our plans in place and wait until the next day to make the drive.
Our sweet new granddaughter was born in the morning on Jan. 30, and bright and early on the 31st we were Nashville -bound, anxious to meet this latest gem to be added to our long and ever-lengthening string of Pearls!
We have already been with this darling little family of four for over a week now, and we plan to stay for the baby’s Baptism after anticipated Mass on the 15th. The next morning, we’ll head back home to VA.
It has been grand, and we are honored to have been asked to be the first on the scene to help out.
If you’re reading this, and your children are still little and gathered about you all the time in your house and sleeping safely under your roof every night, and you can’t imagine how in the world you’re going to fill your days when they’re all grown and gone…I’m here to tell you that when you make it to your "empty"-nesting years, you might find that you are even busier than you’ve ever been before. I know that those child-rearing years of ours were incredibly busy and full, but truly, there is never a dull moment these days. It’s different as a grandparent, of course; but it seems like it’s just about as physically and emotionally tiring as it ever was.
And thank God for that! I can’t imagine how we got so lucky.
Okay, now for the requisite photo dump!
Our newest grandchild is a living doll, and we are so enjoying getting to know her. Her big sister has adjusted remarkably well to having to share the limelight with a needy baby sibling. And rest assured, she's still getting plenty of attention.
We FaceTimed with our middle son and his kids last night, and his 5-year-old daughter complained that she didn't like it when we were "out of town" (her words). I guess she likes it much better when we're just a few towns away from her in VA and close enough to see her often, as we usually are. How sweet it that?It's nice to be missed! And we miss everyone back there, too. But at the same time, it will be exceedingly difficult to say goodbye when we leave here on Sunday.
The older I get, the more I realize that your heart can be in many places all at once. And sometimes dividing it up so that it can do that is unspeakably painful. However, as that wise philosopher, Winnie the Pooh, said to his good friend Piglet:
"How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard."
[Sniff] That's enough for today, I think. That'll do, Pig. That'll do.
[Sigh] Yes, I've just jumped from using a WTP quote to a line from the movie "Babe." Time to sign off before this post goes in all kinds of unplanned directions. Until next time, dear readers...
