Even as I’m experiencing everything for the first time, I’m reliving the first few months of my children’s lives, only this time with a clear head and a rested brain. That is one of the great joys of grandparenthood. And I marvel everyday that I may have missed this in the day to day with my babies.
Yesterday, early in the morning, as I was finishing up changing Reidy’s diaper, he took both of his little hands and reached for my face. When I leaned in, he took my cheek and chin and just stared into my eyes. It was magical, and something I don’t remember with my own sweet babies, not because it didn’t happen, but because I was so entrenched in keeping them alive and well and occupied and fed and clean and up-to-date on shots and cleaning the house and making sure everyone was where they needed to be, that I overlooked the magic in the day-to-day.
Don’t blink. You’ll miss it, and it is the best part of life, of love, of parenting, of everything.
Nancy Wiley writes. 