The Big News You've Been Waiting For

Or maybe it's just the Big News I have been waiting to share with you?

Yes! The lineage of the House on the Corner will be expanding by one generation in the next few weeks--Boy#1 and Lovely Girl#1 are in the final stages of preparation for Grandbaby#1. And in a month or so, that means I'll be GrandmaQueenBee.

I have been waiting for this moment more or less (mostly less) patiently ever since my Much Older Sister began having grandchildren and rhapsodizing about the indescribable wonder of this stage of life. The baby hugs! The tiny sweaters! The handing them back to the parents when they begin to cry!

And because I have always wanted every wonderful thing MOS has had, that means I have been tapping my toe impatiently as I waited to catch up with her for FOURTEEN YEARS, never mind that my own children didn't start marrying until five years or so ago. I'm embarrassed to say that as soon as Boy#1 let us know he and his freshman orientation leader were more than casual friends, I loudly proclaimed my readiness for grandchildren. And I'm even more embarrassed to say that I did that more than once. Or twice, or several times. Finally Boy#2 pulled me aside. "Mom," he told me, "you've got to cool it on the grandkids thing. You're freaking One out."

Ahem.

Last weekend Husband and I crossed state lines to (me) oooh and aaaah at the adorable baby paraphernalia LG's friends lovingly provided at a shower, and (Husband) hang out with One and reassure him on the daddy-ing gig.

It's not as if they needed much advice, though. So far our children are making good parenting choices. They didn't spread the news of the impending blessed event too early, making the pregnancy seem shorter for everyone else. In fact, Baby Wonderful was almost halfway to delivery date (17 weeks) when they told the prospective grandparents, and even closer (21 weeks) when the embargo on sharing the news was lifted. They also have decided to be surprised on the baby's sex, a decision I wholeheartedly endorse. Not only is it fun to speculate (I'm guessing girl; the parents are guessing boy), it also avoids the necessity of a gender reveal party, which is second only to preschool graduation mortarboards in my list of Newfangled Things That I Do Not Like.

After the shower Husband and I helped stow the piles of diapers and pound nails for some nursery decor. We marveled at the kinds of gadgets now available to make life easier for the caretakers of tiny ones who can't blow their own noses, and agreed that while those gadgets may be marvelous the thought of physically sucking the blockage out of those tiny nostrils seems pretty gross. We talked about watching YouTube videos on swaddling techniques, something that apparently had fallen into disuse between the first Christmas until after our Boys were born but has come roaring back in the past few years.

And as I cheated and read the baby's books before I put them on the shelf, it struck me that the next time I see the room in today's beauty shot there will be a tiny child in that crib. Oh, the places he'll go and the things that she'll do.

I can't wait.