"Guess what?!"
"What?" I said, though I pretty much knew what she was going to report.
"Not only did Baby not cry, he smiled when I kissed him and put him down for his nap!"
At least ten minutes were spent rejoicing over this and over Baby's overall progress with his new sleep routine. Daughter had been at her wits end because her son was so strongly resisting sleep. Now only four days after she read a book about successful sleep habits for toddlers and followed the prescribed plan, Baby is sleeping - like a baby.
Some parents may relate to the triumph described in this little story, but that's not my purpose. Not that long ago my daughter was strongly proclaiming in her own inimitably stubborn manner that she was never getting married or having children. Being the modern, progressive, feminist woman that I am, I was not about to impose society's mandates and expectations on any woman, least of all my own daughter. But I harbored a secret so deep it was almost a secret to myself - it would be nice to be a grandma. But, true to my convictions I gradually became adjusted to her choice of being a professional single woman.
She has now been married for over three years and Baby just turned one. I am amazed when I watch this person whom I bore and knew before she knew herself. The person who taught me so much about myself, especially about how I have no limited reservoir of love. When love is genuine and pure it is infinite and unconditional. I could never stop loving her just as I know she can never stop loving her own baby. Still, when I watch her tenderness, maturity, and self-giving I can't help but ask, "Who is this woman?"
So my purpose in writing this is of course to share a little, but mostly to vent my astonishment at how life can sometimes gift us even with things we dare not dream. As I think about it, there have actually been so many gifts bestowed on me - big ones like this one. Why? Who knows. I am charmed somehow.
So, though the day of Thanksgiving is over, I hope gratitude will exist in all my days. I hope you have had big gifts in your life surprising you, charming you - magic unexplained.
"To live is so startling it leaves little time for anything else."
Emily Dickinson
"I think I've discovered the secret of life - you just hang around until you get used to it."
Charles Schulz
(Quotes from The Quote Garden.)
