Grandma. Say it ain't so....

It appears that everything they say about becoming a grandmother is true.  You are stupid with love, reduced to a babbling, goofy nut around her.

Brag book?  Hell yes, you become fearless in comparing your grandbaby favorably to every other baby in the world, and giddy with anticipation about the next grandchild visit (since she's the cutest, sweetest, funniest baby in the world).  The Christmas tree was piled up with baby presents: toys, clothes, age-appropriate board books and anything else that she could possibly need for the next three years.  Conspicuously absent were gifts for the rest of the family.  Must remember them next year. 

You have an impossibly sunny, pretty nursery that seems to stay that way, as baby's Mommy and Daddy forgot to cut the umbilical cord, and keep her on a blasted "schedule" at their house.

To their credit, she's a blissfully happy and contented baby, who has learned how to smile and laugh at Grandma's non-stop shenanigans and makes the world go away when she reaches those fat little arms for me. I see my mother and my daughter in Tigerlily, and every now and then, I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror of her eyes.

When A Child Is Born, So Is A Grandmother.

Oh Tigerlily, you have changed my life forever.

The Moisturizing of America

Mother Nature provides most of her creatures with free moisture.  As evidence I present:

EXHIBIT #1: 

However, one species of Mother Nature's two-legged creatures will pay any price to moisturize.  In the words of the beloved Ringo Starr, "It don't come easy...."  (un-asked-for commentary: my guess is George Harrison was in the room during the writing of this song.)

EXHIBIT #2:

 Mother Nature enjoys watching human females age badly.  Perhaps she finds us a threat.

Interestingly, the male of the aforementioned species loathes the anti-aging moisture they naturally exude.

EXHIBIT #3:

EXHIBIT #4

Your Honor, I rest my case.

The Midlife Shoe Dilemma

Shoes.  You can bet that the minute Oprah steps off-camera, she's stepping out of those miserably high heels.  Well, I don't really know this for a fact, BUT I do know that she publicly acknowledges that she went from a size 10 to a size 10 & 1/2 and her feet breathed a sigh of relief.  She auctioned them off for charity, and I sadly missed that bidding frenzy.  Oh, to have been the lucky winner of some of her Jimmy Choos and Manolo Blahniks.  After all, I am still holding pretty steady at size 10...  But I have found that thousand dollar shoes do not automatically guarantee cushy comfort.  And I think it's beyond high time we call the shoe designers out for wrecking generations of women's feet.  My fervent wish is to see them forced to wear their own creations, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with a minimum year sentence with no parole.  My guess is there would be a revolution in the women's shoe industry.  It would hurt our economy, cause us to lose jobs, damage the health care industry and make podiatrists nervous.  My kind of revolution.

A Different Part of the Sea

After spending several years' celebrating on the Gulf of Mexico, I don't know if I can ever go back to a land-locked Thanksgiving.  There is something fresh and open and wonderful about an ocean view while dining on shrimp and grits (alongside your turkey and dressing) with your family (at least part of it).  After you've stuffed yourself, you can take a long barefooted walk on the beach in your dressy clothes, feeling the sand between your toes, the sun in your eyes, and gratitude in your heart.  Being surrounded by loved ones and natural beauty, it's enough to drop you to your knees, and that is a good thing.