A Different Kind of Love Story

A Letter to My Grandson:

Dear Precious Boy,

This Friday, your Nana will turn 48 and in a couple of weeks following my birthday you will be 2. That means that by the time you are the age I am now, I'll be an old woman (if the odds are in my favor). I have thought a lot since the anticipation of your arrival about the lack of strongly bonded relationships in this day and time between a child your age and his or her grandparents. There was a time in our society when the wisdom and value of the "old" was considered a sacred blessing, but sadly that respect and love is almost obsolete (at least here in our country). What makes this fact especially difficult for me is that you, my beautiful tiny human, are an epic love story in my life and no matter how many ways I show or tell you, the powerful impact you have on me will remain a mystery to you...at least until the day comes that you hold your own grandchild in your strong arms and see a future you helped create staring back at you with trusting eyes. By then, I'll just be a distant memory, an angel watching over you and yours.

As I file through my mind at all of the things I might want to tell you, it occurs to me just how many of them you will learn on your own. This is how it should be, but that doesn't make some of those lessons any easier to swallow. By the time you reach Kindergarten, you'll already know that life can be really HaRD and sometimes scary. You will also know that you can get through those things, even if occasionally you need help from those who love you. By the time you hit the crazy teen years, you'll be well aware of the sting heartbreak can deliver (as well as the reason I've referred to them as "crazy"). And when you get to that glorious time you've been dying to attain since you were old enough to think about it, i.e. adulthood, it won't take long to realize that parts of it are just flat out UNFUN! It's a brutal lesson, my boy, but we all must learn it. Adulting sucks (about half the time, anyway, although that whole "eat cake for breakfast if you want" can be quite fulfilling...literally and metaphorically).

Here are some things I do want you to know. First, don't ever be afraid to ask for that help. It won't make you any less of a man. Second, never outgrow the desire to offer up affection for those whom you care about. Third, there's a difference between being honest and being cruel. The truth is important and raw truth can be painful, but the telling of it, the realization of it doesn't have to break you (or anyone else) down. Use your words with kindness as your guide. It won't ever water down the truth of them. Finally, know that from the moment you were born, you were destined for great things and championed to accomplish them with the love of your ancestors, a group of which I am honored to be included.

I don't know all of the places your journey will lead to, but I do know this...wherever you go, love will follow your path, guide your steps. Take with you kindness and compassion for others, dogged determination, an imagination that is endless, and a heart that refuses to stop loving, even when it's painful to do so. Also remember that one of the most important reasons you are here, all of us are here, is to make the world a better place than it was when you "found" it. Do that with reckless abandon and with my blessing, not that you'll need it.

Always & Forever,
Your Nana (who adores you)