A Grandmother’s Heart

By Caroline T. Jackson

So much has changed in my life over the past few months. I became a grandmother. Or maybe I should say that we became grandparents. I was always told that there was nothing like it in the world and that your life would never be the same. I laughed inwardly at that suggestion, never wanting to hurt anyone’s feelings and looked forward to my daughter’s due date as just another very special day.

When we got the call that they were at the hospital, we were driving through Kansas on the way home to Texas thinking that we had several days to unwind from a long road trip before the baby was to arrive.  How could this be happening? I was supposed to be there with them to witness this happy occasion. After all, I was her mother! Well, God had different plans that day so I just turned into a complete bowl of mush as we hurried down the highway. Calls went back and forth to family and friends and as Blair labored….we drove. Sometime into the morning it was discovered, much to everyone’s surprise, that the baby was breach and would have to be delivered surgically. While I prayed for cool heads and doctors’ skills, we picked up the pace a bit wishing we could click our ruby slippers like Dorothy did and get back home. When the call came that our baby granddaughter had arrived and they had named her after me and my mother’s family name, my bowl of mush turned to total liquid! They had chosen to not learn the sex of the baby, so we were all surprised…. so much so that I very maturely hung up on my son-in-law not asking about the baby or the mother, overcome by the joy of her birth!

Several months have passed since that glorious day and I have had the privilege of helping my very capable daughter recover from the surgery and have watched in awe as she and her husband have turned into real live parents. They are handling her as if they know exactly what to do, as though she came with a set of instructions and I just stand by and marvel. As we don’t live in the same town, my visits are not frequent enough, although they may not think that – but are gracious enough never to say it! Each day with her is a joy even when she is wailing for sustenance…I know that each smile is directed only for me and when she falls asleep in my arms, my heart beats with a love that I cannot describe. I know that there will be times when she breaks it, but they will be fleeting. Her grandfather is jelly in her hands already and I will relish in the fun and enjoyment she will have in his company. She actually has two full sets of grandparents that think she is all ours, but we have to share her with her parents! Pity!