Musings of a Grandpa

Well there is nothing better than being a grandparent. Nothing can describe the feeling that one gets when they hold their newborn grandchild for the first time. It’s like looking into the future. You see yourself as a child, you think about your children who now adults are having their own children and you think about the generations to come. It makes you feel that your life has come full circle. You are a proud parent and a prouder grandparent.

I remember when my daughter first told me she was going to have a baby. She gave me a card with the first picture of our new grand child - a sonogram of a 12 week old baby. To say I was excited is an understatement.

She got a little more creative next time around. She sent me an email with a photo attached. No message just the picture of my granddaughter standing with a gigantic smile on her face and a tee shirt that read “I’m the big sister.” She got us!

We also have a grandson who is a year old and a ball of energy. I swear he is a perpetual motion machine. He never stops moving from the time he gets up in the morning until the time he goes to bed at night. Oh how I wish I had his energy.

We visited him at Christmas. He was two weeks shy of his first birthday then and was just starting to walk. In the next two weeks he went from taking two steps and doing a “face plant” to running around the house. I laugh when my son tells me that he’s into everything. I guess he doesn’t remember when he was his son’s age. Once the grandbaby is mobile watch out nothing is safe. Lock the doors (he quickly learned how to open them), cover the electrical outlets, move your valuables to higher ground and batten down the hatches here comes trouble!

The one special moment I had with my grandson at Christmas that will be etched in my memory for a long time happened when I was lying on the floor taking a well deserved nap when all of a sudden my grandson cuddled up next to me and laid his head on my chest and took a nap with me. What a wonderful feeling to have his heart beating next to mine.

I take great joy in my grandkids. They are the light of my life. My reason for getting up every day to see what they will be doing or saying next. They both live a days drive away from us so we get to visit on the internet using a web cam. While that may not be as good as holding them in my arms it sure beats not seeing them for months at a time. I love to see them blowing kisses or just playing or saying “Gwanpa” I “wove” you.