Grandkids

I just returned from meeting Adelaide Rose, our newest grandchild.  Or Addie Rose, as she's already being called.  It sounds like a name picked out of a stovepipe hat, something from the 19th or early 20th century.  But names like hers seem to be popular with young parents these days.  Perhaps it is of a piece with their preference for older homes with "character," something we've seen with the influx of young families into our early 20th century north Denver neighborhood.  I'm guessing it also has something to do with a connection to what they think are less complicated times, to continuity and tradition.  Whatever the motivation, it is a beautiful name.

And she is -- I am, of course,  totally biased -- a beautiful child.  She seems to have a calmer disposition than her siblings and parents.  That may be in part due to the circumstances of her birth.

Midwives and home delivery are commonly selected options in the Canadian healthcare system.  That's what Addie's parents chose.  Thankfully.  She decided to arrive, more than a week past her due date, in the middle of a snowy night.  So, rather than mom hauling herself shivering into the cold night and dad panicking on the drive through a typical Calgary winter storm, it was the midwife who hopped in her car to arrive in plenty of time to supervise a quick and (speaking from the male perspective) easy delivery.

When her older sister and brother awoke, they could take a few steps down the hall in their pajamas to meet their new sister.  Our daughter said the whole experience made birth seem like a normal, everyday experience rather than a disruption in everyone's lives.

Addie's paternal grandmother was on hand to help watch the kids and run the household while the new mom took a few deep breaths and napped her way back to something approaching full strength.  Her maternal grandma, my wife, had taken 10 days off from work to be there when the baby arrived, which she refused to do until grandma was back home.  So, I finally -- for our seventh grandchild -- beat out grandma and got to be the first grandparent from our family to hold a new grandkid.

By the time I arrived, Addie was celebrating her two month birthday, starting to coo and smile and attend to whoever or whatever was close by.  She spent considerable time windmilling her arms and feet, kicking and punching out in every direction, a jitterbug of joy.

Everyone seems settled in with, perhaps, the exception of big brother, aged 4.  When I talked to him about his new sister, he often responded with, "The baby came out of Mommy's tummy."  A mystery still to be solved.  While his mom was pregnant, he was in the habit of announcing that, "I have a monkey in my tummy."  As a parent, I would have been starting a therapy fund, but as as grandparent I know that he'll figure things out in his own time.

And, who knows, the mystery may evolve into a movie or symphony or epic poem.  I hope I'm still around for the premiere.