YIKES!

I don't care how great the modern era is, when you see a picture like this...nothing is good enough. When a granddaughter is in the ED, nothing can get you there fast enough. This is when the realization of 2500 miles takes on a new perspective. Yes, I probably could get to her side within 24 hours. But for me, that is not good enough. This is when living around the corner from her is too far away. I want to be there to hold her hand and kiss tiny fingers. AND, I MEAN I WANT TO DO IT NOW! This is when "taking flight" suddenly has a new meaning.

I must admit that I think I have a little PTSD when it come to grand babies being in the hospital. My first thought was "WHAT IS HER BLOOD SUGAR?" Until it was confirmed by Wendy that Maya's B/S was OK, my stress hormones did not stop pumping. The last time I looked at a tiny grand baby in the ED was when Addy was in DKA, the dreaded, life threatening condition of uncontrolled diabetes.

WOW! I have decided it is more difficult being a Grandma, than a Mama! Is it because I have simply lived longer? Is it because life has taught me everything does not have a happy ending? Is it because reality has replaced dreams? Whatever it is, one thing for sure....the only way to hold onto Grandma sanity is to grib the hand of Jesus! In heaven, everything has a happy ending.

I want everyone to know. Maya is OK. She had a virus. With IV's and medication, she is home asking for Cheerios. Thank you Jesus for this blessing. And Jesus, please bless Kaelyn as she has a fever and a cough. Kaelyn is in AZ and I am in MD. Right at this moment, Kaelyn is too far away. Jesus, I am holding your hand.

Reflection....

One of the benefits of being my age is my position I hold in our family. I am the middle person. My mother is exactly 25 years older than me, and my daughter is 25 years younger. I have the good fortune of being able to look at the world with three different perspectives. My mother who was raised during the depression taught me how to live great, but small. I was born a little over two years after the end of WWII. I am a died in the wool baby boomer. I am the real thing!

I came to age during the middle 60's. I grew up when girls were not allowed to wear anything but a skirt or dress to school. Boys could wear jeans, but their shirts had to be tucked snugly into their pants. Any fraction of the law meant detention. The class of '66 was the last class to graduate from Hueneme High School with these restrictions. The very next year everything changed. I was a "tween." I was raised between the bubble gum era of the '50's and the psychedelic era of the late '60s and '70s. I was able to enjoy both Elvis and the Beatles. It was a great time to be a teen.

I became the mother of a daughter just as I was finishing training for my RN. I was seven months pregnant with Wendy when I took my state board. It was a time when it was still safe for children to play outside. We never feared for our children's safety. There was lots of money for great schools. Wendy was spelling eohippus in the second grade. It was a great time to be having children.

I like being in the middle of three generations. I am lucky to be able to taste the world with three different spoons. My mother keeps me grounded, Wendy lets me soar with youthful optimism and I am lucky enough to be able to "remember when." I remember when there were no microwaves, McDonald's, malls, or birth control pills. I remember when abstinence was the only way. Actually, it worked very well. In my graduating class of over 600, only three did not graduate due to pregnancy. Yes, it is true. Pregnant girls did not have the opportunity to graduate from H.S. This was wrong, but it was very effective birth control!

The year that Wendy was born, children died frequently from "childhood diabetes." Celiac was a unheard of disease. When I think how far we have come in treating these disorders, I am grateful. I remember when diabetic children only lived into their 20's. How grateful I am to live now when type 1 diabetics have the benefit of insulin pumps. This is a great time to be a grandmother of a type 1 diabetic.

It is good to be able to look back, live in the now, and dream of the future. It is great having two great women in my life, my mother and my daughter. It is wonderful being a tween.