Tuesday, May 16, 2006

Grandchildren

Noah, Deen, Lisa and Zoe at our family reunion, April 16, 2006. Photo by Cousin Jane.



Before I became a grandmother, I was pretty ambivalent about the whole idea. First of all I thought I was just too darn young for such a thing. I just wasn't that interested. I had a great life of my own. But underneath, I suspect there was always a little bit of fear that it would never happen anyway. I didn't want to get my hopes up too high. I've always hated being disappointed. And so being too young and uninterested became a handy way to shrug off any thoughts I might find myself entertaining about the possibilities.

My son, Mark, who is married to a great gal who had already done the mother thing, has experienced instant parenthood. Of teenagers no less!! He calls from time to time to say how sorry he is for the problems he might have caused during his own adolescence. So, though I do have step-grandchildren in that family, there isn't a chance of becoming a true grandmother in that case.

So when I found out that my daughter, Lisa, was pregnant after months of trying to conceive through artificial insemination, I found myself very thrilled and excited. Lisa and her partner Deena, were ecstatic. Zoe, pictured below, was born on September 29, 2000. I fell head over heals in love with her and being a grandmother. Especially when she started to talk and for some reason began to call me "Batty." How did she know??

Next to her is the picture she sent to me for Mother's Day. Entitled,"Zoe and the Potty," her drawing speaks of her working through her recent nasty experience with an overflowing toilet. I love that the potty is so colorful, except of course for that deep, dark hole in the center where all kinds of horrible, smelly things are hiding.







When Lisa tried to become pregnant again and miscarried, she and Deena decided to adopt a child from Guatemala. Noah was born on July 10, 2003 in Guatemala City and after what seemed like an eternity, came home to the USA with Lisa, Deena and Zoe just over a year later. There he is below. He is a real charmer ... loves to flirt, dance and play with toy trains. He is also quite an actor. I love his drawing, called "Guy on a Choo Choo."














So there they are! My pride and joy! They live too far away ... about 7 hours by car ... but hey, distance is nothing when you're blessed with such angels!

3 comments:

jzr said...

Lisa,

Me too! I regret however not spelling Deena correctly at the top. Oh well!!

mom

Anonymous said...

Sounds like you've experienced that you are never too youg to be a grandmother and never have too great of a life as they add and enhance it ssssoooo much.

I immensely enjoyed meeting and playing with them at the reunion. Our goal is to see them many more times before they are all grown up. Time has a way of slipping through our ever tight, clenching grip we try to have during our short time on this planet.

blk

Nitro Retro said...

Beautiful grandchildren. I have 3 grandchildren. My youngest will be 2 yrs. old next month. The oldest just graduated from high school. Time flies when you're having fun. Yes, we are fortunate to have these babies.