“Amelia learned to spell her name,” Valentina confided, proudly, as I hoisted Ezra onto my hip and took Amelia by the hand and headed to the Lolly bus. “We’ve been practicing in the car,” she continued. “I only spelled it two times for her before she could say it by herself. Tell Lolly.” We’ve learned …
There’s Time
Single digits in the countdown to Christmas for an adult means everything seems to move faster, but for a child, the days creep by at a sloth’s pace, same as ever. There’s no real hurry and twenty-four hours lasts just as long as it always does, there’s just that sense of urgency that presses in …
Are You Coming To The Wedding?
The steady gentle breeze was a touch of heaven following the heat wave of the week leading up to the ceremony. Our friends couldn’t have custom-ordered a more picture perfect day for their son’s wedding. The landscaping was immaculate. We would never have guessed the pristine sidewalks were under construction earlier in the week had …
Over The Top
My portacath was the last visible sign of my cancer treatment. Radiation acted on my internal organs in a way I’ll never see with my eyes. Chemotherapy traveling through my bloodstream accessed every cell in my body, targeting stray cancer cells wherever they tried to hide. Multiple scars on my abdomen are visual reminders of …
Start Small(ish)
They’ve heard the baby’s heartbeat and they’ve seen the initial ultrasound photos. In just a few more weeks, a complete body scan will show tiny facial features, little fingers and toes. Will she be sucking her thumb? Will she be naughty like her daddy and scoot out of the frame each time the tech gets …
Defining Moments
Becoming a grandmother has quickly become one of those moments in life that changes everything! I’ve spent months preparing for it and thinking about it and still it seems surreal. I’ve looked forward to our grandson’s arrival since a few weeks after his conception, but until I held him in my arms, I didn’t really …
Upheld
Baby’s First Bath Being a new mother is tough. I knew it well at one point (actually at three separate points) but over time I’ve forgotten. It’s amazing how memory has washed away the monotonous unpleasantness, leaving me with rose-colored snippets of raising my own children. I’ve had the immense privilege of walking with my …
Five Generations Blessed
My Granny will be ninety in October of this year, and she was able to hold her first great-great-grandchild earlier this week. I was the first grandchild of my maternal grandparents. When I was born, five generations of my mom’s family were living. Now that my daughter has a child, we have five generations again. …
Just Call Me Lolly
Today is a day of celebration! My first grandchild, a boy, was born to my daughter, Caroline Rebekah and her husband, Jacob Matthew. Thomas Jay Bulman arrived today at 12:26, weighing 8 pounds and measuring 21 inches long. His birth makes me a grandmother for the very first time. My understanding of and capacity for …
Trust
It’s sometimes difficult to know who to trust. Credibility is established within relationship where trust grows over time. When I tell you that I will do something and I follow through repeatedly, I become trustworthy. My husband and I made very specific promises to each other thirty years ago, and three decades of keeping those …
A Fitting Reply 