We've Added On

For the past 8 months or so we have been planning an addition. These kinds of things take time. It is a process with which we are quite familiar, but seems to be fresh and new each time.
It is not a new room to the house, it is new room in the heart. Chloe Jane Jolly made her appearance Saturday evening and moved into her room into our hearts. She came in at a whopping 6 lbs 11oz, and just a tad over 19 inches, appears to be another blue-eyed blondie which my grandkids seem to run to (only one brown-eyed kid in the bunch). But we are having to really make the room large enough to hold all the hopes and dreams and wishes and prayers and memories. That part is nothing new with 6 other rooms already filling up.

So Saturday night as the last in line (other than the other granddad, who would be there on Sunday) I was handed this little scrunched up bundle. Her little eyebrows sort of knit together in concern, but after a moment she seemed to settle in close. That was when I opened the door and showed her the room made just for her. It still surprises me that each one opens a different door to my heart. Each with their own names and each furnished uniquely for them. But what really surprises me is that this does not become old hat, it is not mundane or routine. It is all at once familiar and new, ancient in some ways and all about the future in others. In one corner were the prayers that have been offered over the past several months. In another corner are stacked the qualities of integrity, compassion, openness, etc. that I hope she will adopt and use. But the main part of the room is open. I can't furnish it until I know her a little better. What will she need? Each one has needed a different set of furniture to make their own. Only by observation and prayer can I pick out the right décor for her room.

But I will tell you this. This little button of girl has already captured me. As my kids will tell you, as my kids-in-law will tell you, as my bride will tell you, I am not the patriarch that stands aloof and direct. I find myself sitting on the floor most of the time at my kids' house, sword fighting, "westling", and oohing over princesses and dollies, throwing baseballs, and sipping from tiny teacups. For the life of me I can't keep the Disney gals separated by name, but I can hum the songs to most of the movies. But it is in these moments that I figure out how to decorate each one's room in the house of my heart.
I have no idea what little Miss Chloe's nature will be. Judging from her parents and her siblings, she will be bright and funny, but will she tend towards her daddy as an artist? or will she be a number-cruncher like her mommy? Will she be intro? or extro? Will song burst from her like her cousin Phoebe? or will she be constantly on the go and full of questions like her cousin Lincoln? Do you see why I wait and let the memories decorate the room? It is in my head that events and people happen around us and to us at a specific time and moment in our lives. It is up to us to grasp the significance of that moment. It is up to us to decorate the room.

Godspeed little miss Chloe. As the book by Billy Crystal  says, "I loved you before I knew you"
Grandaddy (Don)