For my Granddaughters

This month I have been thinking about my mother, my grandmothers and my mother line. Today is the birthday of a very dear granddaughter. Her name is Elizabeth Anne or Elyzabeth, I believe her mother is now spelling it. I hope she kept the Anne. If you have read any of this previous month's posts, you can see that this granddaughter was given a name with a lot of history to it. Her mother line has both names in it.

I haven't been in contact with Elyzabeth for over 4 years. I miss her very much and I hope someday she will read this post and other letters I have written and saved for her. Her birth mother (my daughter) died nearly 6 years ago and when her father remarried, they "uninvited" my husband and I and our extended family out of their daughters' lives.

I remember the day Elyzabeth was born. I was at the hospital with her father and mother. Things weren't going as well as we had hoped. Her mother was in labor, but the baby was in distress. My daughter Rachel, always putting her children first, decided to have the recommended C-section. I worried about that. I worried that her subsequent pregnancies and deliveries would then be harder. That worry was premature. Rachel was killed in a car accident 3 months later and she would not have any more pregnancies.

Annie and Joy on Annie's birth day

Back to the labor room 6 years ago today. They took Rachel into surgery and her husband dressed in the sterile jumpsuit the hospital provided. We joked together and I took his picture and off he went to get his first glimpse at little Elyzabeth, an absolutely perfect little baby girl. The rest of the day we took turns holding her, admiring her and imagining her future. Now she is 6. Her future has begun. Dear Elyzabeth, I wish much happiness for you today. I wish beauty and joy in your life.

I have 12 granddaughters and 12 grandsons. I was at the hospital for the births of every one of my 9 birth granddaughters. (I didn't meet my 3 step-granddaughters that early.) Every one was beautiful and perfect. Each filled me with joy at her birth. Several of them were named for grandmothers and great-grandmothers: 1 for me, 4 for my mother, 1 for my mother-in-law, 1 for her grandmother and 3 for aunts. What a heritage these young girls have! What a gift I have to know and love each one! I love women's history and I love seeing it being made today. Happy birthday Elyzabeth! You are part of something that is very special.