She'll carry on

On October 13, at 10:00 a.m., my newest grandchild, Kathryn Lynn was born. She weighed in at 8 lbs., 10 oz. and was 21 inches long. My daughter was in labor for only 7 hours, and only pushed for 12 minutes, and after only 3 good pushes, presented our little beauty.

After packing to come home yesterday, I sat holding Kathryn. As I gazed at her, I realized I wanted to live long enough to see the young woman she is destined to become.

My nickname for my grandmother was the "Ice Queen". She was a very hard woman who, upon being told by my mother "I love you", responded with "God bless you". Love wasn't apparently part of her make-up. Needless to say, being raised by the Ice Queen, my mother wasn't exactly the most loving parent around, and she did try, but unconditional love was not something I experienced.

I know the mistakes I've made with my children, but thankfully, they received enough good from me that they have become very loving and generous adults. I can't wait to see Kathryn (and her big brother Alex, and their cousin Alyssa) grow into adults who were loved unconditionally. My daughters are such better mothers than I was, so I apparently did something right!

I doubt seriously that I'll live long enough to see Kathryn become a mother, but I was totally in awe as I sat looking at that sweet baby face, and realized that at some time in the distant future, she will tell her children stories about her grandmother (me). I pray that the stories Kathryn shares with her children about me will include lots of humor and tons of love!