Wow! I had no idea. I had no idea what it would be like for my child to have a child. It is awesome. It is heart enlarging. It is so much like having another child of my own. It is good.
Little Olive was born last Thursday at 3:30 am.
A bit overdue, her birth was much anticipated. From the benefit of hindsight I encouraged Megan to relax and enjoy the last moments before Olives arrival, her world would never be the same again. Well that was a purely pragmatic perspective. Thinking in terms of never being alone again, always having someone else to also get ready when you leave the house, having to put someone else first in a way you don't necessarily even do with your spouse. But I had lost sight of the explosion of love that takes place in your heart when your baby emerges in this world. Now I remember.
Olive and Megan were amazing during the birth. Megan worked harder than she ever has (which is something as she is naturally industrious). She persevered through long, continuous contractions, working with her body to birth Olive. Olive endured it well.
I am so proud of Megan. She started labor knowing it would be the most painful, exhausting event of her life, completely focused on how God designed her body to birth this child and preparing herself to work with it; researching what would be the safest, best birth experience for Olive and choosing that. That is the definition of a Mother.
So now I have to figure out what it means to be a Grandmother. This is uncharted territory. I feel a love for her that rivals what I feel for my own children. But I realize she is not my daughter, she is Megan and Joshs, they are her parents, they will care for her in the way that I feel inclined to. So my relationship with her will be something different. I just don't know what that different is. I guess I will follow my heart, listen well, and be mindful of how I can best love them as a family. A unique family, within my own.
1 comment:
Being a grandparent is like being the butter on the dinner roll. You get to sing to, read to, talk with, play with, and love the little ones to pieces. There is something about the "full circle" feeling of watching the one you nurtured, nurture. It's amazing. It's humbling. It's the most surreal thing ever. You will love this ride. You will not be able to believe how powerfully you can multiply your love. Wow. Congrats, my dear old friend. We're grandmas. My eldest, Lynnea Ruth, is 8 years old.
Post a Comment