Friends of London
I got to visit my grand daughter, London, today! She just turned 14-months old and is a thriving happy baby. When my step-daughter, Marissa, got pregnant, I wasn’t honestly sure if I was ready to be a “grandma.” I feel too young to be one although I do have friends my age with a few of them already. Well, as many of friends with grandkids told me, as it turns out I am quite into her.
London is at the average height of 21-month old, yes, 7 months ahead of the curve! She runs around, she gets up and down on her feet, and she can even do a down-dog pose! She now smiles gleefully, utters some almost-words, and seems to understand everything her Mama tells her.
As I spent these moments with her, I was so aware of the preciousness of this time. I only get to see her once a month or so (although I see her everyday on Instagram), so next time I will be with her, she will have a whole new set of expressions, movements and words. I’m grateful she seems to recognize me, and can’t wait for her to call me, “Grandma!”
In her nursery, she pulled out each of her stuffed animals from the basket and handed them to me; she motioned to put them up on the shelf on the wall. As I placed them on the shelf for her while she watched me happily, memories from my own childhood came back when I had those friends including imaginary ones. Sometimes I wish I could go back to that innocence. Sometimes I wish I never had to grow up. But because we do grow up and grow old, it makes those innocent times even more precious. Hopefully along the way, we find many of those friends, which I did.
Meanwhile, my 90-year old mom is on the decline. It is bitter sweet to sit with London as I brace myself for the inevitable end of my mother’s life. All I can do is love the new life and the old, and everything in between. Speaking of which, I will be attending a memorial service this Friday of my friend, Helen, who recently passed after 100 years of full life. So a fellow teacher, Angeliki, will be covering me for my sitting group. #YouCanSitWithUs