Thanks Grandma Connie!

So Grandma Connie (or “Gran” – her grandma name is still a work in progress) returned to San Antonio yesterday, and we want to give her a great big THANKS! It was really wonderful to have her here. For starters, she seemed determined to prove that she could be the most useful mother / mother-in-law ever to visit a daughter with a newborn. Mom had dinners on the table whenever Babak and I were ready for them and she stocked us up on frozen meals for the days to come. She did laundry (including washing every single baby item we own – clothes, socks, receiving blankets, crib sheets, burp cloths, changing pad covers, you name it, she washed it), scrubbed toilets, re-organized the kitchen, bought groceries, lined dresser drawers, cleaned my breast pump parts and drove me around. But, what was even nicer than all of the chores was learning that my mother and I not only get along, but actually enjoy each other’s company! To be fair, our relationship has improved dramatically over the last several years so I’ve enjoyed her company for a while now, but I think we’ve reached a new level of camaraderie and understanding. Just as I imagine it must be eye-opening for my mother to see her child as a mother in her own right, now that I am a parent I have a totally new appreciation of my mother as a mother.

I also have a new appreciation of my mother as a grandmother. I think she is going to be really good in this role. I mean, she already promised Lela a pony to keep at my parents' Colorado house! (Well, she swears she only meant that she would "borrow" a pony for Lela to ride, but I'm going to remind Lela of this pony promise when she gets a bit older and see if she doesn't wheedle a pony out of Grandma and Grandpa at that time. I think Lela will find that my dad is a sucker when it comes to little girls).

So, thanks for everything, Mom. All of us look forward to your next visit.