by Tina Mitts

Created on: July 09, 2009

I, like many others, did not expect to have all the incredible emotions that just poured out of me from the moment my granddaughter entered this world. I was first told about this little person to be right before I was to have major surgery, my daughter, who is also my baby, decided to tell me at this imperfect time because she knew how nervous I was about my surgery and she wanted to make sure I knew I had something wonderful to look forward to. Little did I know the impact that this one little person was going to have on me.

I never would have believed it if someone had told me that the love I would have for my granddaughter would be just as all consuming and intense as the love I have for my own children. I was given the privilege of watching my granddaughter enter this world and the moment she made her appearance I was overwhelmed with these feelings of intense love and happiness. She was and is the most beautiful child, she enters a room and I melt, the worries of the day are gone for awhile and of course she has her papa wrapped around her little fingers too.

We have had the gift of being a major part of our granddaughter's life, she and her mother lived with us for most of the first two years of her life and when they did move out last year they didn't move very far away. We have worked out a mutually beneficial arrangement with our daughter so that we get to have our granddaughter every other weekend, we absolutely love it. The times we get to spend together as a family are great but I must say that those special times when we get to spend quality time with her alone are indescribable. She's now three and a half years old and at that stage where she's curious about everything and looking at life through her eyes is like learning to see things all over again.

My favorite times with her are those when we're at the end of a fun day and she's getting tired and just wants to unwind and relax. Sometimes she'll just disappear and I'll find her in her room (she has her own room at our house) sitting quietly on the floor playing with her toys, mostly dolls or Barbie's, and suddenly it's twenty years ago and I'm watching my little girl all over again, wow what a feeling that is. The most special times of all are those times when she's ready for bed but doesn't want to just go to bed, no, she goes to her room grabs her favorite kiki (blankie), her tippie cup and comes up to me, her Nana, and holds out her arms. We sit together, this angel and I, rocking and maybe singing her favorite lullaby (it's all up to her you know) until her beautiful blue eyes can no longer remain open, then I get to watch her sleep. There is no love like this, the all consuming love for a child and their's something overwhelmingly special about holding your child's child and knowing that the cycle of life, your life, continues on. It's beautiful!

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