It's odd how things come to pass. Just when you think something is bound not to happen, it happens, and it's usually for the good. I have lost count of the times I thought I was stuck with the short end of the stick only to have the long end fall right into my hands(or right on top of my head), or have the door to a great opportunity shut in my face just as another door to an even better opportunity open in it's place. This is one of those times. In a couple of posts I have lamented the fact that I would not be involved much in my new grandson's life. My daughter lived in Vegas sharing a place with her Mom, and her fiance' was whisking them off to, most likely Germany, as soon as his rehabilitation is complete(he was severely wounded in Iraq). Those facts would keep them far away for the first couple of years of my grandson's life.

Enter fate. December 28th I got a call from my daughter saying she just couldn't deal with her Mom any longer and asked if she could come home(she lived with me most of her life) till her and Joe(her affianced)got married in January and she could get a place here in town. I won't get into the reasons behind the problems between her and her Mom, but it was upsetting to hear her so upset having just had a baby and me not there to be able to do anything to help. The only immediate problem was that the truck was in the shop grtting tires and the van was in the shop for repairs so the trip would have to wait a day.

We retrieved both cars that afternoon, and early last Friday I headed for Vegas for the first time in my life without the intention of gambling. No problem. There was no doubt I was coming home a winner! We loaded all we could into the truck and hightailed it out of town! With the Vegas skyline receeding in the mirrors I stuck my hand back into the car seat and felt my grandson grab my finger for the first time. I cooed and blathered the way I did when my children were that small. Although I really wished that things hadn't deteriorated between my daughter and her Mom, I was overjoyed to have them coming home. My daughter insisted to her Mom that this would be better since they wouldn't be arguing all the time, which I am sure is right, but I doubt that made Nannette feel any better right then.

My Mom had been bummed that her first great-grandchild wasn't going to in her life much either and I could sense the excitement in her voice when I called the night before I went to tell her waht was going on. I called her from Edison and told her I would be home shortly and she said she'd meet me at the house. When she got there she just dropped all of her stuff in the floor and went for the baby. She didn't even leave the bedroom for half an hour(or put the boy down!). We took pix and talked of how much he looked like his Mom when she was an infant. We did all the baby talk stuff that so may people find annoying when it is someone else's kid being coddled. When he started to cry, Mom(my Mom)got to feed him. She looked so happy. It was awesome.

It's so cool having him right here(ok,,it's great to have Cassie home too!). Cassie, Ariel and I went shopping for "stuff" on Sunday, getting, among other things, a sling and a glider rocker. His little aunts(my two youngest girls)are fascinated with him even thogh Ariel, the youngest, is still afraid to hold him. Bev and I have no such problems. Poor Bev has been sick and unable to hold him and I know she wants to, but doesn't want to take any chances. We probably hold him more than his Mom would like, but that's tough! Soon enough they will be off to wherever their lives take them and we will not have the pleasure of grabbing him up anytime we like. He is starting to look around and react to the sounds of peoples voices, his eyes are getting brighter and he is focusing on the world around him. What a cool thing to get to go through from a different perspective than that of a parent.

So, as a believer that everything happens for a reason, this door has opened and I was able to walk through and enjoy the gifts on the other side. This door will close when Joe, Cassie and Aidan leave for Germany. It will suck, but maybe the closing of that door will open the one that will take us on a family vacation to Europe in a couple of years. Who knows? All I know is that, right now, my Daughter and grandson are here, and I am not going to squander that time and the chance to bond, as much as I can, with Aidan.