The cat is out of the bag at last. I have been given the go-ahead to shout it from the roof-tops. This is my metaphorical shout out.
My darling daughter and her helpful husband are going to have a baby. The baby is due August 10. Another little piece of him is coming into the world in a whole new human being. I am over the moon about being a grandmother. My friends will know that I have wanted a grandchild for a long time. I remember clearly how I felt when my mother came to visit us a few months after my daughter was born. I felt so protected, so much in the middle of the universe when I was the middle generation between my mother and my daughter. Now I can experience the joy of being the older generation. The circle of life is completing.
I have known about the upcoming event since before Christmas. One day early in December my daughter made plans to come to my apartment do do some baking with me. That morning I had woken up feeling sad before I even opened my eyes. I used to wake up feeling sad before my eyes were even open in the early stages of grieving. I had not felt that way for several months and had thought I was moving on to a new stage in the grieving process.
But that day early in the festive season, I must have been dreaming about something sad - I don't remember what, I woke up sad. Oh, crap, I asked myself, am I going to wake up that way every day until Christmas? A depressing prospect. When my darling daughter arrived and told me the good news, it felt as if a switch was turned on in me. For the next several days I woke up with a smile on my face. I felt a renewed sense of purpose. I wasn't supposed to tell anyone, but I did tell a few close friends.
Of course I am extremely pleased about the prospect of seeing a grandchild and looking forward to the elation of holding him or her in my arms, but still, once in a while a lump comes to my throat at the thought that he won't be there to see our grandchild. Family was always so important to him. It's just not fair.
The latest news is that daughter and son-in-law have heard the baby's heart beat. My daughter reports that it sounded strong and clear and tears of joy were shed. They will be going for an ultrasound in about a month. Stay tuned for more reports.
I am so happy that I moved here to Vancouver so I can be with her. It is gratifying just to be there for her while she goes through one of life's most wonderful experiences.
In other, less important news, I continue in my course at Vancouver Community College, Teaching ESL. I am half-way through the course. I am so happy to rediscover how energizing it is to be part of a learning community. We are a diverse bunch. Age range is from early 20s to seniors. Experience ranges from many years of experience teaching to a few years volunteering in an ESL classroom to no experience teaching. Some are native English speakers and some have another language as their first language. But I am learning from everyone in our class. Our instructors are great, dedicated and encouraging, as all good teachers must be. The most interesting classes so far are those where we had a beginning lesson in Serbo-Croat and another in Arabic. Don't ask me to speak any words in those languages...I really empathize with those learning a new language from nothing. I felt so stupid.....
My practicum is in a class of international students. The class is a wide age range, from many countries, but all are here to learn English and then plan to return to their home countries. Our sponsor teacher had us up and teaching right away the first day, working with small groups or pairs.
My best to brother-in-law J. Keep well, little brother. Talk to you soon.
Take care...and TATA...and PEACE.
Grandchildren are the dots that connect the lines from generation to generation. ~Lois Wyse
