Rev. Rachelle Daniels

Ramblings from the Soul

I had dinner the other night with a group of girlfriends who I met over 20 years ago. We all had sons in a Tiger Scout den and have been best of friends ever since. I am the youngest of us, but I started my family at the ripe old age of 19 while they waited until their 30s. The dinner conversation was mainly about dating. All of us are divorced, with the exception of one who is widowed. One of my friends even had a date prior to dinner and brought him into the restaurant to meet all of us before he went home. A year ago I would have been all up on this scene, but something warm and wonderful happened at the beginning of this year; I was gifted another granddaughter. I have two more granddaughters, ages 10 and 5. My oldest was born close by, but her parents were military and soon were stationed overseas. When the second baby was born, they lived out of state and have remained out of state. I guess I never got to fully experience the joy of really being involved as a grandmother until Quincy Rose came along. I was there all during her mama's pregnancy, and during the birth, and afterwards the two of them would come and spend the night once a week until my daughter went back to work. Now I babysit the little sugar plum nearly every Saturday. My other two granddaughters live just one state over now, so this year I've been able to visit them more than in the past and that has been wonderful too! There was a time not that long ago when I was concerned with finding a new partner, or obsessing over the current partner......I would say, “I’m not ready to settle into a rocker with knitting needles just yet!” After all, I just barely turned 55; I have a lot of life left to live! But sometimes things can shift without you even realizing what's happening. I used to get happy to get a text or phone call from my boyfriend. Now I text and ask if my grandbaby, who can't even talk yet, can FaceTime with me. If I don't see her for a week, it feels like a month. I used to look forward to date weekends with the boyfriend; now I look forward to surprising my granddaughters with a visit and seeing them run to me with hugs, smiles, and so much love! Or seeing Quincy Rose reach her hand out towards me while we are on FaceTime trying to touch my face as she likes to do. And I got to thinking: why is being a grandmother so much better than being a mom? All I can come up with is that when I was a mom, I had so much responsibility that having fun seemed to take a backseat. Now I get to have all the fun and not so much responsibility. I've learned not to take for granted those hugs, smiles, and moments staring into my granddaughters’ eyes. I'm not resisting being a grandmother anymore, I am falling gently in love with it. I'm spending more time with my own grandmother, who is a very active 93 years old, grateful that she is still with me and still healthy and active. There is something special about this generational coming of mothers and daughters. So special, in fact, that for Christmas I bought yarn, crochet hooks, and a book to teach my oldest granddaughter how to crochet. The rocking chair will have to wait though, not quite ready for that!