Full Circle

While I watched “The Lion King” with my grandchildren, I identified many adult messages in that animated film and its songs. The lyrics of one song includes the lines, “It’s the Circle of Life and it moves us all through despair and hope, through faith and love, till we find our place on the path unwinding in the circle . . .” ~ Elton John

A week ago I thought of that song as I watched a grandson pick up his baby girl and head down the steps with her in his arms to lovingly care for her needs. It seems only yesterday that he was headed off to elementary school with his backpack slung over his shoulder. I will say that he was holding his little daughter with far more care than the backpack received!

This is not the first time I have witnessed a grandson accepting the challenges of fatherhood. Who would have imagined that a high school grandson out there running track could one day so easily make the series of transitions that changed a carefree high school student into a loving and responsible father?

When we had our children, most child-care responsibilities were considered to be those of the mother. The moms got the diaper duty while the dads got the “lets see if you laugh when I tickle your feet” duty. Not so now! Dads have “everything duty”: diapers, feedings, car pools, and laundry, along with playtimes and reading. However, if modern fathers have any inherited traits at all, I suspect they pretend there is no stinky diaper in the room until everyone else finds an excuse to make an exit.

I had my ______ birthday this week. (No filling in of the blank, please!) Having grandsons who are now fathers means that my life has contributed to the creation of new little lives, and that a new generation of our family has begun. Maybe having a birthday reminded me of the preciousness of the gift of life. And, maybe the fact that circles have no end serves to remind me that my influence also has no end. The special milestones in my life propel me forward to a place where I have never been before, and always to a better time in my life. I cherish every day and love my many roles. How blest I am!

Grandson, Josh, making a snowman with his daughter, Olivia (2½). He's now looking forward to a son who will arrive in July.

Baby Emma being held in the arms of her daddy, grandson, Robert.