Good News

No, I haven't been buried under all of the new snow that we've been blessed with this lovely month of April (just in case you were wondering why I haven't posted for a week). In fact, the last couple of days the thermometer has hit the plus 19 mark (that's 66 Fahrenheit--yeah!) and the sun has made mush of most of that white stuff, thank goodness. My day lily patch in front of our kitchen windows is showing its first signs of new life and the tulips are lovin' that kiss of warmth that eluded us for so long.

Okay, that's not really the good news I'm so excited about this fine Sunday morning. This past Tuesday morning we got a phone call at 10:15 from my youngest son: "Mom, you're a Grandma". Silence (for just a couple of seconds).

"When, how much does he weigh, How are Mom and Baby doing?" And many more questions (in between squeals of joy) before my son got a word in. "Mom, he's only 5 minutes old and the nurses are cleaning him". I tried to picture Ryan cradling this new little babe in his arms and wanted to be able to feel what he would be feeling.

"Mom, you have to get up here", (that's up to Woodstock, about a 45 minute drive from here). "Yes, we're leaving soon, I have to get dressed and feed the cat and...". At this point Arend was also asking questions and my mind was racing ahead, at the speed of light.

Let's fast forward now to 1:30 that same day. We finally arrived at the hospital, gifts in hand, and I'm shaking like a leaf. I've been waiting for so long for this day--thank-you God for this tiny and precious miracle!

As we walked through that door and to the side of the bed where I could get the best look at my new grandson, my heart started to fill with a brand new kind of love. I couldn't get enough of the sight of this new life laying in his Momma's arms, tucked in a blue receiving blanket, with his Daddy gazing down at him with that "I love you" look that I remembered so well after 27 years.

When Ryan asked if I wanted to hold the baby, well, you could have heard my heart sing if you'd been there. I reached out for him, smiling through my tears, as I felt that first touch of his sweet skin on my fingertips. Mere words cannot (of course) do justice to those delicious curls of emotion that wrapped tightly around my entire body. I wanted to laugh, I wanted to cry, I wanted to shout and I did all three!

Arend had his camera in hand to capture hundreds (okay, not that many!) of shots as the baby went from arm to arm and then back to his Momma. It was a day filled with good news and joy enough to last forever. And as expected, you will find 3 of those precious moments displayed amongst my words here today.

I'm wishing you a day filled with hope for this new season that's now officially upon us. Blessings to you and "yours".
Barb