No More Babies

Well, it has finally happened. With our precious Felicia's start in kindergarten this year, we have no more babies in our family. All of our beautiful granddaughters are now on their journey to adulthood. This is a bittersweet time. We look back to remember how tiny and helpless each of them was when we first met them. As we counted fingers and toes, tried to determine which parent they resembled the most, or teased back and forth with the other grandparents to determine whose granddaughter was the most beautiful, we also thought of the day when they would go to school - a day we wished would be delayed by many, many years.

It's fun to listen to my sons as they talk about how hard it is to see their little girls grow up. I remember those thoughts and feelings myself as I watched four little boys begin their journey through their school years. What they don't realize yet is that the next twelve years or so will bring many challenges and joys. Their work as fathers has really just begun. They will pray more for their daughters now than they did before because they no longer have complete control over the experiences their little ones will have.

Our oldest granddaughter, Tierney, has a very deep desire to have a puppy. Tierney is beginning fourth grade this year. She told me recently that she doesn't believe that her family will have a puppy before she leaves home. She told me, "I'll only be living at home for about ten more years, then I go to college." I'm sure she will have her puppy before she goes to college, but she's planning her life now. To her this is exciting, to me it stabbed my heart. They are all growing so fast. I want to take these years and put them in a bottle to carry with me daily. I think often of how blessed we have been to be such a part of the lives of our granddaughters.

Unless our youngest son gets married and brings us another grandbaby, there will be no more infants in our family. That tears at my heart. There is something so fragile, beautiful and perfect in infants. I look forward to seeing my granddaughters grow and fly on their own, but not as quickly as they would like. As Felicia speaks about how much she loves school, I find myself praying that all her school experience will be as wonderful as her first few days have been. I pray that the girls all make wonderful godly friends, that they are able to maintain the faith they have in God, that they never think of their family as an embarrassment and that they always know in the depths of their hearts how much they are loved and cherished by their mothers, fathers and grandparents.

I know in my heart that my granddaughters will succeed in life as beautiful Christian women. Their fathers are devoted to each of them. The relationship these girls have with their fathers, uncles and grandpas will give them the foundation and knowledge of what true love is. They will not need to have that part of their being fulfilled by someone else. They have true examples of what good men are, and that will keep them stable when faced with the many temptations they will face.

The first days of school are just the beginning of parenthood. There is a saying that parents are to provide their children roots and wings. Our girls have that. Their roots are deep in a strong, loving, close-knit family. They are gaining their wings while sheltered in the loving nest their parents have provided. Just as their fathers grew and then flew, they will do so. Some day our sons will be watching their grandchildren start school. I hope I'm alive to see that day. If I am not, however, I will be watching from heaven and thrilling at the wonderful women our granddaughters have become.