When my granddaughters were wee weekend guests here on Houston Street and at the ranch, they might have left behind a toy, a moño or a precious little sweater, something that evoked their sweetness and reminded me of the great time we’d spent together.
Amandita
The years since they were small children have moved for me with a nearly incomprehensible velocity. Emily, 18, is now in her junior year at university. Amandita (Joyce) is a ninth grader soon to turn 15. And me, Nana, I’m taking halting steps into the twilight of my life for the one dance Jackson Browne forewarned in 1974 that we will all do alone.
It seems not so long ago that on winter afternoons after chores at the ranch we three gathered kindling, built a fire in the kitchen hearth, and sipped La India hot chocolate before playing Loteria or watching the Backyardigans or Black Beauty.
When Emily and Amandita spent last weekend with me and had finished preening for an outing with their friends and had left together in a high-energy exit, I saw that the bathroom sink was surrounded by a sea of facial scrubs, moisturizers, eyeliner, mascara, lipstick and other beauty enhancers, which I, their staid grandmother, believe neither of them need.
Emily
Emily had an early ride to catch back to school Sunday morning and so she packed quickly. Amandita travels lightly and had packed before we drove to the ranch.
What was left behind on this visit was an eyelash curler they forgot to pack, the curler looking forlorn and out of context on the surface of a free-standing cabinet next to hats nestled in a stack and resting on their crowns.
What they really left behind, however, is what they always have – the wonder of the gift of them in my life, the wonder of their kindness and love, the wonder that ever I could love anyone as much as I do those two.
Beautifully said
Grandchildren are the best!!!
Such a blessing, I can only imagine as I wait for ANY of my five children to have an inkling of an idea that they might embark on the fabulous, unpredictable, chaotic, terrifying and ultimately as fulfilling-as-much-as-you-decide-it-can-be journey of parenthood. I am not holding my breath, but I have all my fingers crossed 😉
As always, so eloquently written an so wise in your reflection. I share that wonder of discovery of that extra chamber of our hearts for these grandchildren who have given us a name that supplants all the names that we have lived by. They are true blessings in this life.