(above oil painting by Gaye Lynne LeGuire...)
I'm going about the house, today, preparing to be a grandmother. (Our daughter, her husband, and new baby will live with us, for now, while Justin completes his internship and his Master's degree...thus, after baby Timothy is born, they will come home from the hospital to this home.)
How does one prepare to be a grandmother? How...how...how...
I know what to do to prepare the house. I still have to clear out the fridge, sweep the floors, and make sure my little bag of power bars, knitting needles, yarn, and Diet Coke is packed - I'll be there for all of labor and delivery, per Hannah's request. At six o'clock in the morning, it will be the trip to the hospital.
I know how to prepare a home, but how do I prepare a heart? How do I prepare my heart for the birth of a Christmas baby..."my" Christmas grandchild? How do I get ready to step seamlessly into what I have heard is the sweetest role I will play in all of life?
How do I go about the mundane preparations for a time of glory?
Life really is all about maintenance. Even on the eve of weddings and births, even on the day after death, there must be clean clothes and warm meals and physical comfort given to the people I love. Such is the Life of Woman. Ask me how I know.
Somehow, my heart assimilates. Somehow, my mind is slowly wrapping itself around the fact that God is the God of the New Thing. And New overlaps Old, always. One must always be cleaning up around the edges, where Old and New have collided. One must always be ready to tend to the business of tidying up in the place of transition, while simultaneously airing out the chambers of the heart...letting the breeze of newness freshen old routines and mindsets.
I've heard it said that women wear lots of hats. Well, this particular "hat" has been waiting for me, in its box, since the moment I gave birth to this daughter of mine and her sister. I have not so much as tried it on, in all these years. But I've looked at it longingly.
Today I get the hat out. I admire its loveliness. Yes, this hat suits me more than all the others, I bet. I think I will look just fine in this hat.
Tomorrow, I put on the hat for the very first time.
For the rest of my life, I will wear that hat with obnoxious pride. (And dear reader, it is most certainly not red...)
3 comments:
Thinking about you today. No you cannot prepare for what will occur in your heart ... my words of experience will not even come close to the over-flow that is about to come upon you.
Enjoy every moment of the birthing room ... there's nothing in this world that compares to being in the same room when your precious grandchild makes the grand entrance in to our world ... well, nothing except holding that little God-send miracle. God bless!
Hey Sheila -
Was checking in on your blog for the third time today just in case your grandson came early (what is this obsession I have with other people's birth experiences?!) Anyway, just felt I had to comment and tell you this post just really blessed me. I think I love reading your blog because right now, in the trenches with many little ones, it encourages me that someday I will have beautiful relationships with these tiny people. There's something so sweet about the idea of preparing for a first grandchild. So, thank you for the inspiration and many warm thoughts and best wishes for your Big Day tomorrow. And also, hoping you fill us in on all the details of the labor and delivery... because I'm nosy! :-)
You will be wonderful at this :-)
So glad we both have Christmas grandbabies. Mine is about to turn one on Sunday. Each day is a gift, a blessing, a miracle.
So happy for you!
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