The First Grandbaby

“A baby will make love stronger, days shorter, nights longer, bankroll smaller, home happier, clothes shabbier, the past forgotten, and the future worth living for”

I never liked children so much until I had my own.  I never babysat, I often quoted W.C.Fields..."Get outta here kid, yer botherin' me".  My husband on the other hand wanted a houseful and he introduced me to every baby, toddler and child he could pick up so I could meet them face to face and see the possibilities.  One day he took me to see the newborn of a friend, only an hour old...there are no words to describe the new world I had entered.  I had known no beauty, no emotion, no amazement like this before.  I could barely breathe in awe of this new life, this delicate, fragile beauty that was Amber Roberts.  Her smell, her soft breathing, her warmth, her gaze in interest of me, of my face from a newborn only an hour old.  As I got to know this wonderful baby in the next few months, my desire for one of my own grew and my appreciation for the wonder that is a child grew as I got to know my own babies, watching them grow, learn, do and become the admirable adults they are now.  

Now I have a grandchild.  I was there when he was born and I thought it would be like when I fell in love with that first baby, or my own babies...but it's so different.  I watched my beautiful grace of a daughter fall in love with her first child along with her husband.  First I grabbed her hand to touch his head so she could see that almost 40 hours of labor was about over and then I watched her look at him for the first time and then to her beloved husband who stood by her side every moment of labor.  I watch the two of them care for this miracle who is also my grandson.  Sometimes I feel like I am an intruder, because he is a product of their love, their hope, their family and I just get to peek in sometimes.  

But then he sees me when they come and his face lights up for me, for my face.  When I watch him, I take him outside to my pretty garden, the outdoors that he seems to love as well.  I am excited for the future, for his future and the privilege of watching him grow up under the tender care of two people who work hard to create their own family yet still look to their extended family to share the love and happiness he will bring, support them both through difficulty without getting in their way and walk with them to the hopes and dreams ahead we all have for each other.

I created this collage (click on photo for photography/photoshop details) of the family they have become with their new arrival...you can see a variety of photo collages by many other photographers here: 

http://iheartfaces.blogspot.com/search/label/Collages