The baby arrived on the Epiphany! We held him when he was moments old. We loved him immediately like we have always loved his mother. He is beautiful, perfect, a heavenly gift. We received him with reverence. With his arrival, we have entered a new kingdom, the kingdom of grandparenting.
In this kingdom, everyone deserves respect. We are grateful for all that we have. We say yes to whatever comes. There is nothing that is beyond our purview, no energy wasted on blame or regret. Mistakes are used to serve learning, there is no shame in making them. There is a sacred stream that runs through this kingdom.
We are responsible for how we are and what we do. We consider the past, but do not dwell on it, our eyes are on the future. We aim to cultivate goodness in our actions, beauty in our hearts and truth in our thinking for that is how we plant seeds in the present that we want to bear fruit in the future.There is a stream of optimism that runs through this kingdom.
The evening of his birth, I sent a text message to friends announcing his arrival. Soon, a bassinet for our home was offered. We picked it up and there it sits ready for the baby to sleep in the kingdom of grandparents. There is a stream of generosity that runs through this kingdom.
It has taken many years to arrive in this kingdom and it includes all that I have experienced and learned so far. I remember my grandparents’ home; it was so special to me. It looked like them, smelled like them (grandpa’s pipe and grandma’s cookies), and it was walking distance from our home.
Classic. A sanctuary from life’s woes. It was predictable, a great source of security and warmth. Grandma was soft, strong, steady and available. She walked to the library to borrow books in all kinds of weather. She held the purse or handled the money, which my grandfather happily admitted. She also decided how many children they would have; she was ever practical. I relish memories of their kingdom, a stream of love flows through it, baptizing all who enter its waters.
When I shared that I would soon be a grandmother, friends offered a moniker. They called me glamma. Certainly, a stream of playfulness runs through this kingdom. Yes, I will take the new moniker, keep wearing my bright lip color while celebrating the gifts of aging. I don’t have to give up anything of great value, I’ve already cleared space for what is important. The kingdom of grandparenting allows me admittance as is. I am proud to enter it and allow it to enter me. It is a parenting reprise with benefits I am just beginning to discover.
Yes, there is life beyond retirement, downsizing and minimizing, and it is full and fulfilling.