Fly on the wall

Well, in honor of it being Valentine's Day-- the day o' love-- I will tell a little love story. Don't want you all thinking I'm an absolute Scrooge...or whatever you would call someone who doesn't like Valentine's Day. :)

Last weekend one of my friends had her baby. I was fortunate enough to visit her and her new little one in the hospital. What a sweet little baby boy! While I was at the hospital I got to witness a very sweet interaction:

My friend's mom was also there in the hospital room, and towards the end of our visit little baby Nathan was again being held by his grandma. Even though there were 6 of us in the room, it was as if it was just her and the little baby in her arms...and I was a fly on the wall. Everyone else was engaged in conversation, but she sat still, staring down at her grandson with a soft smile on her face. What captured me was the sweet look on her face. All at once it captured love, acceptance, gentleness and reminiscence. In the past, I've witnessed my own mother holding my babies and looking down on them with this exact same look. It's absolutely pure and beautiful.

I realized that although a mother can view her child through the lenses of unconditional love, only a grandmother can view her child with the love of understanding that comes through life experience. Living the experience of raising a daughter and seeing her have children of her own...that's love and wisdom on a whole different level. It's so amazing to think maybe one day I'll get to see my sweet Mia and Maggie have babies of their own. Maybe then I'll truly understand this "look" I witnessed in my friend's mother and my mother on an even more personal level.