A New Chapter
Right around Christmas a wonderful thing happened. I became a grandma for the first time!
My daughter and son-in-law live 2,000 miles away, but since I’m a teacher and the baby was due in December, I was able to fly out and enjoy 10 days of his newbornness. That, and of course, help the new parents as they dealt with not being able to get a night’s sleep, cooking, laundry, and everything that comes with a new baby (first baby) in the house.
I thoroughly enjoyed it. It had been many years (too many) since I’d held a baby, helped feed and change a baby, etc. But some things come back naturally. I loved my “shift” of sitting up til midnight each night holding him so that he stayed calm and mom and dad could sleep. I finished a Netflix series I was watching, watched 3 or 4 Christmas movies I hadn’t seen in a long time, and reread a Dan Brown book, all while enjoying a new tiny little life resting comfortably on me. Who could ask for a better way to spend a week?
And now? Now I’m thinking maybe it’s time to retire (to be honest, I’m always thinking that), and maybe to relocate, at least for a time, closer to the growing family. I haven’t moved often in my life, so it’s not a comfortable thought, but it seems like a good time. While I’ve been away from the blog (those of you who have noticed), I lost my mom in 2022 and my dad in 2023, so the ties that bind are shifting.
My daughter caught me crying the day before I left while I held my grandson.
“You okay?” she asked.
“Just missing him already,” I replied, trying not to let my tears drop on his little head.
“I know,” she said, starting to cry herself. “And he doesn’t even talk yet.” 
Sandra Smith is the author of the awesome and award-winning middle grade/YA series, Seed Savers. Visit her Facebook and Pinterest pages. Follow her on Twitter. Sign up for the newsletter!
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