I have three amazing grandchildren, the oldest of whom turned eight years old today.
It seems like just last week I was sitting in the Mercy Hospital waiting room on the maternity floor anxiously awaiting his arrival. The two families filled that waiting room to capacity. We were there for hours upon hours. We exhausted every topic of conversation, including which local restaurant served the best coffee.
His parents kept his name a secret. The only clue we were given was that it began with a U. My guess was Ulysses. I don't remember anyone else's guess. Therefore, when his daddy came out to announce his arrival, we were even more eager for details than we would have been otherwise. Wouldn't you know he gave us all the particulars except the name.
I finally asked, when he paused for breath, "What's the baby's name?"
My grandson's daddy grinned and said, "Urijah Lee."
A powerful name. I'm not sharing his last name for privacy reasons, but it's a strong one. His name suits his personality perfectly.
Urijah made me a Nana. He captured my heart at first sight. Over the past eight years, he's grown into a happy, intelligent, and caring boy. Nothing demonstrates that more than what he did last Friday.
He spent the night with my husband and me last Friday, trying to keep his distance from my injured knee. No one had told me that he was having a birthday party today, so I gave him his present Friday night. The moment he saw the box that said "Airport" on the side, he raced to me, stopped just in front of me, stepped around my knee, and gave me a giant hug. Then he pulled his autographed Winston book out of the bag and his smile grew even bigger. We had a truly great night.
Fast forward to this afternoon, and my husband called me. He was talking about being late and pizza. I finally picked up on what he wasn't saying. I asked if Urijah was having a party tonight. My husband said he was, and informed he'd told me about it. I assure you; he said nothing about a party. I even asked him several times.
After calling my stepdaughter to confirm that I was invited, I drove over right after work. We enjoyed some pizza and brownies that have dinosaur bones in them. Then Urijah opened the rest of his gifts, and the kids had a great time running around the house. The hooped, hollered, and bounced around.
Now that I'm home, I can't help remembering the great times I had with own cousins while celebrating birthdays. Those are precious memories my grandbabies are making. I'm so happy they have each other and live close enough to play together often.
Kids grow up fast. If you have them in your life, I recommend you hug them and enjoy every magical moment with them you can.
I wish you safety, health, and happiness.
Thank you for reading Ozarks Maven! If you’ve enjoyed my little seeds of wisdom and joy, please join me again next week for more Ozarks Maven.
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