The Good Times

Any day now, I will have a new granddaughter. My daughter Chelsea and her husband Matt are expecting a little girl, who should make her arrival known very soon. She will be a military brat, daughter of two Army medics serving in El Paso, TX at the moment.
Chelsea will make a good Mom. She is fearless, though barely over 5 ft. tall. She is smart, ambitious, and hopes to go into trauma medicine or rehab. She has seen more of the world in her short lifetime than I will see in all of my lifetime, and has experienced so much since entering boot camp days before her 18th birthday.
Her life hasn’t always been easy, but I hope that she has always known her family loves her. That love is something she will pass onto her daughter. In these days ahead, my only advice is enjoy each and every moment ahead. I used to always joke that you can’t wait for your baby to smile, then roll over, then walk, and then talk. Then you just wish they would sit down and shut up! In truth, these moments, these precious moments, as you watch your child cry her first cry, your life will truly begin, and it will never be the same again. Be a partner with your husband in this adventure, and nurture that partnership. It is just as important a part of the equation as being a Mom.
You will experience the sleepless nights, the fevers and coughs and runny noses. You will experience the scrapes, and maybe some stitches or broken bones. You will experience homework and sports and having to say no. You will experience the slamming doors and the silent treatment. You will have to watch that first love and that first broken heart. You will wait up nights worrying when she doesn’t come home on time, hoping and praying that something awful hasn’t happened. Before you know it, you will watch as she leaves the nest, whether to college or to other parts of the world.
Know that now, and the days ahead, are the good days, no matter how hard they may be from time to time. Enjoy each one to the fullest and remember that one day, she too will be a grown woman, have a family of her own, and her own life to lead. These are the good times. Enjoy! You’ll look back someday and wonder how they passed so soon!