Update – I wrote this three years ago upon the arrival of our granddaughter, Kate, but never shared it. Family and friends were full of love and awe and wonder for this little girl. As we celebrate her 3rd birthday this weekend, we still are.
We recently welcomed our first grandchild…and our lives will absolutely, unequivocally, never, ever be the same.
To say that we are smitten would be a gross understatement. We are totally gob smacked with love for this little one. Unabashedly, hey-stranger-look-at-these-pictures-on-my-phone, over the moon for this eight pounds of perfection.
And I’m totally surprised.
I mean, I knew I’d love her. I just expected it to be a more gradual process. More of a years-in-the-making kind of love, sprinkled with picnics at the park, trips to the American Girl store, and overnight escapades at ‘Sugar’s house.’
Relationships take time…right?
My friends who had travelled this road before me warned me of this consuming love.
“You won’t believe the love you’ll have for her,” said one.
“It’s crazy how much you’ll love them from the start,” said another.
Even the ones who joked about the luxury of spoiling them and then returning them to their parents at the first sign of trouble, couldn’t help but speak of the overwhelming love for their kid’s kids.
Still, I remained skeptical. I mean, I like babies; I just don’t go all drop-everything-I’ve-got-to-hold-your-baby-crazy with other people’s newborns. Even the mushy and mythical life-is-nothing-but-giggles commercials for Pampers usually don’t get to me. (Though, for a couple of weeks post-partum, I was known to tear up over a few particularly poignant Hallmark commercials!)
I’ve just always been more drawn to bigger kids; ones that I could actually communicate with.
And tickle.
And chase.
And bribe with ice cream.
Give me a 4-year-old, a card table, and some old quilts and I’ll build a secret fort that’s safe from monsters and perfect for tea parties.
But…a bobble headed baby who sometimes can’t be soothed no matter what.Where’s the fun in that?
How do you even begin to build a relationship with someone who can’t see more than six inches from her pretty, pretty face? How do you love someone who only smiles when she toots, and even then doesn’t realize it? I mean, really, what’s to love about someone who disrupts every single aspect of your life and those you love most with her “me, me, me” mentality?
Oh Lordy! There is so very much to love, I can’t even put it into words.
You surprised me, Baby Kate. You came into this world all squishy, wishy, and rubbery. You even went so far as to believe the world revolves around you, demanding to be fed and cared for relentlessly. You even had the hutzpah to be born on your sweet Aunt Hopey’s birthday, too! Way to make a grand entrance and steal someone else’s thunder.
You didn’t so much as offer up a gurgle or a coo in the early days. It was all about you and you made no apologies for it nor offered any explanations.
But then, you didn’t need to.
You came, Baby Kate, as an answer to prayer; more fearfully and wonderfully made than we could have ever imagined. You arrived with all the fanfare befitting a princess and have been holding court ever since.
You’re the bee’s knees, the cat’s pajamas, and the belle of the ball, sweetheart. You’re all that and more…you are already loved so very deeply.
For ever and ever,
Sugar
P.S. If you think I’m head-over-heels in love with you, you’ve got your ‘Double’ and ‘Lolli’ and ‘Pop’ totally and completely smitten too…
