What It's Like....

OK. So here I am on the other side of this amazing event and I've had some time to try and digest what it all means. Although I have come to doubt whether I will ever know all the implications and impact of Samantha's arrival, I do know that it was much larger than I ever imagined it would be.

Here are a few of the things that I did anticipate:

• Vermont is a long way away and it doesn't get any closer with repeated trips.
• My southward tendencies when it comes to travel may well be a thing of the past as we adjust our leisure time schedule to accommodate the newest member of the family.
• Ruth has embraced her role as a mother with unbridled passion and her usual high level of practicality. These two qualities, passion and practicality, while seemingly at odds, have always been her trademarks. She gets them from her mother and they bring depth and fire to everything she does.

Here are some things I did not anticipate:

• You can actually spend hours just watching a baby sleep. The wonder and amazement seem to have no end.
• The unexpected closeness I feel with Samantha. I knew she would be special but I never thought she would be this special. I figured there would be some distance because, after all, she wasn't our child. There is no distance. My family has just gotten larger and somehow, closer.
• How beautiful my daughter is as a woman and a wife.
• How beautiful my wife looks and acts as a grandmother.
• What a wonderful and loving husband my daughter has in Todd. It's not that I didn't think highly of him before, I did. Now I look up to him. He's going to be a great father.
• I really don't feel any older (in spite of everyone calling me 'Gramps'), I feel more blessed and vital than ever before.

So, I don't know how all this plays out in the long run. I'm sure there are more things I have not anticipated, more unexpected blessings and, realistically speaking, perhaps some disappointments as well. I'm not sure I'd have it any other way. For now, I'm in awe of what God has done, humbled by His grace and blessed in being allowed to witness, first hand, His hand performing a miracle.

Thanks for walking this path with me!