Our Greatest Wisconsin Blessing
I have one other wonderful thing about Madison. I didn't want it to get lost in the shuffle of my last ultra-long post and it, or I should say she, more than deserves her own spotlight.
The one thing that was hard about Madison, probably the only reason Nick didn't try to find a permanent position there, was that we were more than 1,000 miles away from any family. We both love our families and the absence of them is even more acute with a baby. That's why we were so thankful for...
GRANDMA SALLY!
Ok, Grandma Sally is really the mom of my friend Julie, a former co-worker. I was super excited to have a friend in our new town and even MORE excited to learn that she had a mom who is dying to be a grandmother and wanted to come over every week and hold a baby. (Well, she started out holding Hannah...by this spring, like the rest of us, she was chasing Hannah.)
It was a gift for all of us. I got a few hours a week to run errands, clean the house, or even just go somewhere and read a book (and not The Very Hungry Caterpillar). Sally got that great warm feeling from holding a little snuggly lump (or, later, playing with a laughing, charismatic whirling dervish). And Hannah got the best of all things: Grandma Time. Every week her face lit up and her little legs would start pumping as we opened the door to Grandma Sally's smiling face and "Hiiiii Bug!" greeting.
I was amazed that Sally could work a fulltime job as a special needs preschool teacher and still actually look forward to more time with a little person, but she swore that it was the highlight of her day. Whenever we missed a week, (we traveled just a little this year) she'd grab Hannah and say, "Oh, my arms have been aching for this!" Could I imagine anything better for my little girl?
Of all the things we've left behind in Madison, the absence of Grandma Sally will leave one of the biggest holes. Yes, we'll be much closer to Grandma Miriam, but a girl can never have too many grandmas. And while Grandma Sally has two adorable 'granddoggers', we know it's just not quite the same. But as she said when we left on Tuesday, "This is just see you later, not good-bye."
The one thing that was hard about Madison, probably the only reason Nick didn't try to find a permanent position there, was that we were more than 1,000 miles away from any family. We both love our families and the absence of them is even more acute with a baby. That's why we were so thankful for...
GRANDMA SALLY!(Turns out, you just look up "Grandmas" in the yellow pages. It's really easy.)
Ok, Grandma Sally is really the mom of my friend Julie, a former co-worker. I was super excited to have a friend in our new town and even MORE excited to learn that she had a mom who is dying to be a grandmother and wanted to come over every week and hold a baby. (Well, she started out holding Hannah...by this spring, like the rest of us, she was chasing Hannah.)
It was a gift for all of us. I got a few hours a week to run errands, clean the house, or even just go somewhere and read a book (and not The Very Hungry Caterpillar). Sally got that great warm feeling from holding a little snuggly lump (or, later, playing with a laughing, charismatic whirling dervish). And Hannah got the best of all things: Grandma Time. Every week her face lit up and her little legs would start pumping as we opened the door to Grandma Sally's smiling face and "Hiiiii Bug!" greeting.
I was amazed that Sally could work a fulltime job as a special needs preschool teacher and still actually look forward to more time with a little person, but she swore that it was the highlight of her day. Whenever we missed a week, (we traveled just a little this year) she'd grab Hannah and say, "Oh, my arms have been aching for this!" Could I imagine anything better for my little girl?
Of all the things we've left behind in Madison, the absence of Grandma Sally will leave one of the biggest holes. Yes, we'll be much closer to Grandma Miriam, but a girl can never have too many grandmas. And while Grandma Sally has two adorable 'granddoggers', we know it's just not quite the same. But as she said when we left on Tuesday, "This is just see you later, not good-bye."
posted by Katie | 10:04 AM
2 Comments:
Such a sweet post and I'm so happy Hannah got to have a midwest Grandma!
AWWWWW.....Julie just mentioned this!!! How wonderful to be acknowledged for something that was SO easy for me to do!!! It WAS ALWAYS the highlight of my week! I hope the move went well...even with the horrible traffic jam you encountered! Give "Bug" a hug from me!!!
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