Thursday, August 16, 2018

Becoming a grandfather

Like many Baby Boomers, I have always thought of grandparents as older people. Women who sit in rocking chairs and knit sweaters. Men who tell fishing stories on creaking porches. Folks who start life with a two-generation head start on the rest of us. Someone else.

I don't think that way anymore. Today I think of grandparents as the woman I married thirty-two years ago and the man I see in the mirror several times a day. Time, as they say, catches up with everyone. And at nine forty-one on the Ides of August, it caught up with me.

Thanks to the joyous arrival of a little girl late last night, I became a grandfather for the first time. Like many others who followed texts and emails closely after my oldest daughter, Heidi, went into labor, I had to wait several hours to learn the particulars. But the wait was more than worth it.

Stella Irene Knipe, like her exhausted parents, is doing well. At seven pounds, two ounces, and twenty inches long, with a pleasantly mellow disposition, she looks like a kid who is ready for prime time.

I plan to see my granddaughter in person for the first time next month, when Cheryl and I can get away from Las Vegas, make the long trip to rural northern Idaho, and complete this life change. I can't wait.

Until then, I am content to know that Stella is happy and healthy; that her parents, Heidi and Will, are as pleased as punch; and that sometimes life's milestones are all they are supposed to be.

2 comments:

  1. Congratulations John. Becoming a grandparent is the most wonderful time. Enjoy your new baby girl and visit to your family.

    ReplyDelete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.