The ABC's of Aiden: Friday's Fave Five

September 10, 2010
Happy Friday!

Thanks to Susanne at Living to Tell the Story for giving us the opportunity to share the blessings of the week. If you’d like to join in, just visit Susanne and get the details.

This is a very special FFF for me. I have to warn you, my post revolves around the ABC’s of one little person this week.

1. Anticipation. I’ve often thought of my sons being dads, so that anticipation goes way back. When my oldest and his wife told us they were expecting, we were thrilled. This would be our first grandbaby. The happy couple decided to be surprised by the baby’s gender, so we all waited in breathless anticipation to see if this was a boy or a girl.

Aiden Samuel Groves

As you can tell from his name, a boy it is. As I like to say (reminiscent of the old Sonny and Cher song, “The Beat Goes On”), the boys go on. When my son told me on the phone that the baby was a boy, I said, “Of course he is!” I’m not really surprised…I had a hard time imagining that a girl could actually come from this bunch!

The anticipation grew from the first phone call on Tuesday morning until he arrived at 1:35 on Wednesday, his due date. Things were moving quickly on Tuesday morning but, as often happens, they slowed and stalled. By evening we were fighting over the phone and fielding calls from brothers and grandmothers alike: “Any more news?” It was just awful around here. We couldn’t concentrate, couldn’t work, couldn’t sleep! My son texted from the labor and delivery suite and called once in a while to keep us up to date, but then he got rather busy and we were in the dark for awhile. That was hard. When the phone jangled at 1:35 on Wednesday morning and I heard, “Mom? You have a grandson,” joy just flooded in.

2. Brother bond. Two of my sons had the “privilege” of waiting in the waiting room! They’re going to college an hour away and they cut classes in hopes of being there for the baby. They were great support for both moms and dads – the new ones and the grand ones! (It was great to know they were there when we were two days away by car. They checked in and gave us a bit more information, too.)

Their support of the new parents and their wonder about the whole process was fun to behold. They’ve boasted on Facebook about being uncles and shared pictures, too. It’s killing my California son that he can’t be here right now!

3. Constitution – as in health, makeup, disposition. If not for my sweet little daughter-in-law’s strong constitution, I don’t know how Tuesday night / Wednesday morning would have gone. She’s not a big, muscular type, but she more than held her own during labor and delivery. This was not an easy birth, but she and my son were committed to natural childbirth as much as possible, and despite talk of c-section by the doctor, they made it. This little guy is not so little (7 lbs, 15 oz.) for one as petite as Mom is, and my son says she’s somewhat of a legend around the hospital right now!

4. Dads’ reactions - both of them. I’ll never forget my husband’s reaction. I grabbed the phone and he sprinted down the hall. He stood in the doorway and looked at me quizzically as I was listened to our son. I mouthed the words, “It’s a boy” and laughter just rumbled out of him. It was this incredibly natural, completely spontaneous overflow of joy.

Then last night I got to listen to our son’s glowing account of the entire day. His tale of the ups and downs was laced with his own feelings and reactions. He had that sense of wonder that captures most new dads, and that was so much fun to hear.

5. Exhilaration, elation, exultation, euphoria, you name it! So much joy spread around the family this week. In a couple of weeks, we’ll get our hands on the boy and I’m sure you’ll hear more then!

What a week of blessing it has been for us!!

27 comments:

Jean Wise said...

wow - you really captured the excitement and joy. congrats, Grandma!

SONDRA PRICE said...

What a BEAUTIFUL post.

I have an Aidan too!!!

Diane said...

Tears springing here. Beautiful post! :O)

Heidi @ Decor & More said...

Congratulations, Laura! That sweet baby boy is so lucky to have a loving insightful grandmother like you. Enjoy the ride on this new phase of your life. :)

Rebecca Ramsey said...

I am SO HAPPY for you!
You told the story with such joy, that I got so caught up that tears surprised me.
How beautiful. And what a cutie he is.
Blessings, blessings.

Anonymous said...

I love how you told this! How hard it must be to be so far away, but we're so fortunate to have Facebook and such rather than having to wait for pictures to have to be developed and then sent.

I can hardly wait for our first grandchild some day!

Unknown said...

This post has a very high "awe" factor. So happy for you.

Karyn said...

Congratulations, Gramma! He is beautiful.

I'm sitting here with tears running down my face - especially at the thought of the new uncles in the waiting room. I'm sure it meant everything to the new dad to have his brothers there to share the moment!

God bless you as you begin to walk this new path of being a gramma.

Danielle Leigh said...

Congrats with your new grandson! He is adorable!

Hazel said...

What a happy FFF! I was smiling while reading from beginning to end. Congratulations, Grandma! You're still outnumbered :)

Faith said...

Oh my goodness!!!! CONGRATULATIONS Grandma!! what wonderful news and how creative you did your FFF.....enjoy that precious blessing from our Lord!!! (you look too young to be a grandmother!)

Islandsparrow said...

What a beautiful story - I am SO happy for you. And you look way too young to be a grandma :)

What an incredible week for you. I can hardly wait to be a grandma too!

Victoria said...

My eyes teared up when I read this. Congratulations to all of you! What an exciting day!

Corinne Cunningham said...

How absolutely incredible :) He's beautiful!
Hope you get to hold him soon!!

Anonymous said...

Adorable way to do FFF. If you scrapbook, you already have ll the material needed.

Congrats to you all.

Willow said...

Congratulations to you all! I love being a Grandma (Meema in the New Boy's vocabulary) and I can tell you will too! Welcome, little Aiden!

Laura O in AK said...

While in the midst of raising a houseful of boys, I can't imagine being a grandmother. It sounds like the whole family is excited to welcome this new little boy into the world. Thanks for sharing about it :o)

ellen b. said...

Oh Happy happy joy joy!! How wonderful for all of you to be blessed with little Aiden!

momma24 said...

What a perfect Fave Five! I could feel the anticipation, joy, and love pouring from every word. Thank you so much for sharing with us.

Susanne said...

Welcome little Aiden! Congrats to Mom and Dad and to Grandma and Grandpa, too! He is absolutely adorable!

Gattina said...

How wonderful ! and I have this experience just coming in November. The young couple wanted to know the sex, so I know it will be a little boy. My DIL too is very petite 5.2 and my son very tall ! 6.6 !
Honnestly I would have prefered a little girl for a change, lol !

Joanne said...

Laura,
That is such wonderful news!
Congratulations...so happy for you all!
Lovely post!
ABC's...so fitting!
Thanks for sharing!
Blessings,
Joanne

Karen said...

I'm teary-eyed! I'm so happy for you and all the family. You know, he's GOT to be red-headed! Love ya!

Jerralea said...

I'm back from my retreat, so I had to come by ...

Congratulations! I'm so happy for your family. (I like the name Aiden)

Jientje said...

Awwww, you must be such a proud grandma! Congratulations!

Kari said...

As i read this post I can almost see your smile and feel how proud you must be.
Congratulations to you all. Your grandson looks so precious.

Anonymous said...

Congratulations! Your post actually made me tear up a little . . . my youngest sister is expecting, and her little one will also be the first grandbaby. It's such a wonderful, moving time in all of our lives. =)

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