in came the doctor, in came the nurse
Exactly one year ago today our first grandson, Desmond John, arrived - "he came to the world in the usual way" as Harry Chapin put it.
I still remember how much (as weird as this sounds) I enjoyed sitting in the dirty little waiting room by myself, waiting for updates. Billy would come in every few hours or so and give me reports on how Scarlett was doing - she was one tough woman in labor, that's for sure. I went home for a few hours to sleep and he called me back when Scarlett was ready to push. Desmond was born 30 minutes or so after I got there. When Billy came in to tell me "It's a little boy", I won't forget the look on his face - he my second born, once my own newborn, now a father. I got to see Desmond all fresh and somewhat startled by his abrupt arrival into the world, the lights and his transition outside the comfort of the uterus and his early introduction to his parents. Nothing is softer than a newly born baby's skin - amniotic fluid must be the best skin softener - too bad women can't manufacture it at will to keep wrinkles away.
What a great year watching little Desmond go from a sleepy little baby who made his uncle Dan a little uncomfortable at first to a very active, and of course, precocious and the smartest one year old who is walking and will soon be talking. If we all learned and accomplished in a year, the amount of things Desmond has, we would be brilliant!
I am so lucky to have had the time this past year, to have witnessed some of Desmond's milestones - smiling, learning to grab his toes, learning the pincer grasp to pick up cheerios, etc - things that if I had not been retreaded I would have missed. I got to see his first steps too.
I know humans must always find the good in seemingly adverse events or we would not survive, but I am so glad things worked out the way they did and I retired earlier than I had planned because I have had this time. Time is more precious than money or anything else - and it is so fleeting. We can never get the time back that we use on things that are not as important as what is happening right under our noses that we don't pay attention to. It's a lesson I learned and one that I tried to help others see - nothing is more important than your family - when you die, you will be remembered more by your family than you will be by the people you worked with. As Goethe put it "Nothing is worth more than this day".
I think it is even harder now to live in the moment because we have so many moments on hand - smart phones, laptops, etc....too many distractions from other people's moments, and too much multitasking. I am so glad that I could have the luxury to just sit and watch Desmond grow this past year - and read him the story about the Lady with the Alligator Purse. I think he loves the sing song way we read this story to him. It goes like this:
I found this book and had to buy it because I remembered the rhyme from an old jump rope thing we used to recite. Turns out that the Lady with the Alligator purse had the right idea. Common sense is always best! I want to be the lady with the alligator purse from now on!
Anyway, Des, Thanks for helping me to remember to live in the moment although I am not always good at it. I will try to be the best grandma I can. Hopefully you won't think I am too crazy. I hope you grow up happy with a positive attitude, a good sense of humor, and remember to be nice. You have so much to look forward to - including that 10K we will run together someday! Happy birthday sweet baby!
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| Desmond - less than one hour old - contemplating what's ahead for him |
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| Bill and Scarlett - Des was less than an hour old |
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| Me and Des - one day old |
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| Grandpa and Desmond |
I still remember how much (as weird as this sounds) I enjoyed sitting in the dirty little waiting room by myself, waiting for updates. Billy would come in every few hours or so and give me reports on how Scarlett was doing - she was one tough woman in labor, that's for sure. I went home for a few hours to sleep and he called me back when Scarlett was ready to push. Desmond was born 30 minutes or so after I got there. When Billy came in to tell me "It's a little boy", I won't forget the look on his face - he my second born, once my own newborn, now a father. I got to see Desmond all fresh and somewhat startled by his abrupt arrival into the world, the lights and his transition outside the comfort of the uterus and his early introduction to his parents. Nothing is softer than a newly born baby's skin - amniotic fluid must be the best skin softener - too bad women can't manufacture it at will to keep wrinkles away.
What a great year watching little Desmond go from a sleepy little baby who made his uncle Dan a little uncomfortable at first to a very active, and of course, precocious and the smartest one year old who is walking and will soon be talking. If we all learned and accomplished in a year, the amount of things Desmond has, we would be brilliant!
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| Uncle Dan with Desmond when he was about two weeks old |
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| Aunt Kseniya - Des was about two weeks. |
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| Smiling at Christmas time |
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| Mother's Day |
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| June 2011 |
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| Nothing is more peaceful or beautiful than a sleeping baby - July 2011 |
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| Desmond loved to play inside this cabinet, after first taking out all the magazines (July 2011) |
I know humans must always find the good in seemingly adverse events or we would not survive, but I am so glad things worked out the way they did and I retired earlier than I had planned because I have had this time. Time is more precious than money or anything else - and it is so fleeting. We can never get the time back that we use on things that are not as important as what is happening right under our noses that we don't pay attention to. It's a lesson I learned and one that I tried to help others see - nothing is more important than your family - when you die, you will be remembered more by your family than you will be by the people you worked with. As Goethe put it "Nothing is worth more than this day".
I think it is even harder now to live in the moment because we have so many moments on hand - smart phones, laptops, etc....too many distractions from other people's moments, and too much multitasking. I am so glad that I could have the luxury to just sit and watch Desmond grow this past year - and read him the story about the Lady with the Alligator Purse. I think he loves the sing song way we read this story to him. It goes like this:
Miss Lucy had a baby
His name was Tiny Tim
She put him in the bathtub
To see if he could swim.
He drank up all the water
He ate up all the soap.
He tried to eat the bathtub
But it wouldn't go down his throat
Miss Lucy called the doctor
Miss Lucy called the nurse
Miss Lucy called the lady with the alligator purse.
In came the doctor
In came the nurse
In came the lady with the alligator purse
"Mumps" said the doctor
"Measles" said the nurse
"Nonsense" said the lady with the alligator purse
"Penicillin" said the doctor
"Castor Oil" said the nurse
"Pizza!" said the lady with the alligator purse
Out went the doctor
Out went the nurse
Out went the lady with the alligator purse.
I found this book and had to buy it because I remembered the rhyme from an old jump rope thing we used to recite. Turns out that the Lady with the Alligator purse had the right idea. Common sense is always best! I want to be the lady with the alligator purse from now on!
Anyway, Des, Thanks for helping me to remember to live in the moment although I am not always good at it. I will try to be the best grandma I can. Hopefully you won't think I am too crazy. I hope you grow up happy with a positive attitude, a good sense of humor, and remember to be nice. You have so much to look forward to - including that 10K we will run together someday! Happy birthday sweet baby!
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| Des and I - his first 5K - April 2011 |
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