My babies were each a few days old when I placed them in their great-grandfather's hands. Seated each time on the same couch in my in-laws' living room, he and I gazed down together at the peaceful beauty of a sleeping child. Their bodies hardly noticed the transfer from arm to arm: heads simply flopped from one side to the other, limbs still curled in newborn C. Their soft cheeks snuggled into his thick flannel shirt; their pink toes dangled over his old corduroy pants. But the move to me seemed monumental. From one generation to the next, a stretch across time. I have no grandparents of my own left. So the gift of Grandpa in my life has been a reminder of these figures from my childhood: one grandma's hug, another's warm smile, my own grandpa's deep guffaw. Their faces and stories rise in my memory when we visit Grandpa. Behind thick glasses, his eyes beamed as he welcomed each new great-grandson. "Teeny, teeny baby," he cooed, patting their backs with a rough, weathered … [Read more...] about presentation
grandparent
the wise speak to the weary: older mothers to new
The elderly woman shuffled down the aisle, pausing at the end of our pew as she buttoned up her coat to brace herself against the winter cold. She watched as our toddler lunged across his father's lap to topple a stack of hymnals, nearing knocking his already-screaming baby brother to the floor. I was trying vainly to scoop up four coats, four hats, three baby toys and - somehow - one small shoe. Gritting my teeth as people glared at our less-than-graceful exit, I caught her eyes as she lingered. "You have a beautiful family," she said, smiling. "I remember what those busy days were like. I had six kids myself." She waggled six fingers my way with a grin as she turned towards the door: "SIX!" . . . I sprinted out of my parents' kitchen almost as quickly as I'd raced in, in search of a pacifier. One boy was hollering on the monitor, or another was calling for a cuddle - I don't remember. But as the rest of the family lounged around the Sunday breakfast table, savoring the … [Read more...] about the wise speak to the weary: older mothers to new
