When our
son, William and his wife, Mary Kate announced to us their pregnancy we were
thrilled to say the least! Our first
grandchild! No, wait, there’s two?!?
Twins!
For months
we have been anticipating their arrival and entering into that holy fraternity
of GRANDPARENTHOOD. Dozens of already
established members of this wonderful society told us repeatedly, “There’s
nothing like it!” or “If I had known it would be this much fun I’d have had my
grands first.”
I can now
say, “THERE’S NOTHING LIKE IT!” If you
follow me, Susan, William, Mary Kate, Ragan or any other relative or friend of
ours you have encountered numerous pictures posted to the wonderful world of
Facebook. Gone are the days of
photographs with film and having to wait a week for development. Praise be to God! Today there is instant gratification and
sharing.
Some have
heard the account of January 3, 2016 from our perspective. It began like any other Sunday just like
yours. You know; you wake up, stretch, drink
your coffee, have some devotional time, walk and feed the dog, shower, dress
for church and find a flat tire on your car!
So, Susan and I take my loyal Toyota truck to church. Having just returned from some extensive time
with families in Virginia and Alabama, and an extension of our time in Alabama
to help with Susan’s mother who fell and broke her hip, we were greeting folks
at church as we entered.
William had
made for me and gifted me at Christmas a “two peas in a pod” lapel pin which I
chose to wear on my suit coat for the first time. Susan and I met our pastor, Bill Ireland in
the hall and he inquired into Susan’s mother’s condition. He then asked about William, Mary Kate and
the babies. We told him the news we
received at Christmas that a date had been set for the C-section: February 2nd…and
my phone rang.
On the other
end was William. The timbre of his voice
was higher than normal and syllables were flying by. What we understood him to say was he had just
preached the 8:30 service at his church, had an urgent text from Mary Kate,
another minister copied his sermon and told him she would cover the 11:00
service. He would keep us informed but
would be going to the doctor or the hospital to check to see why Mary Kate was
so sick. (Keep in mind the scheduled
date was a month away and that was even early.)
Our pastor
assured Susan, the Minister of Music, that she needed to do whatever she needed
to or wanted to do for her family.
Susan, the wife and expectant grandmother told me, “Go get the flat tire
fixed!” So, off I went, back home,
change clothes, put air in a tire and see what it needed. Ragan, our oldest son was finishing up his
Christmas vacation with us and was still at the house getting ready to come to
church. He drove behind me to find a
tire repair shop.
Before we
could get to a tire shop, I received a text from William, “You’re going to be a
‘Tom Tom’ (hopeful name they will call me!) today!” Susan received a different text, “Holy
Smokes! Fully Dialated!”
This all
transpired while Susan was preparing the choir to lead in worship. She kept her phone with her and advised the
pastor of the progressive nature of the news.
Everyone encouraged her to go ahead and leave, but remember, she had no
vehicle. We had communicated that she
would leave whenever Ragan could arrive at church.
I found no
place open to repair a tire on Sunday and made the decision to drive my truck
to Richmond and not take a chance on the tire, which was holding air. I turned on the radio knowing that our church
service was being broadcasted. Here’s
where it gets good! At 11:25 a.m., the
choir begins singing the anthem, “Benedictus (Blessed is the LORD).” I am driving up the highway back to the house
and those words open up the dam of emotions…at 11:25 – 11:30 a.m.
The pastor
begins his sermon from Matthew 2, the account of the Magi’s journey to see the
promised one. He states, “What a joyous
day today has already proven to be.
Susan, Tommy and Ragan are now beginning their journey to go see those
promised precious babies.” Again, the
emotions well up inside and then out!
Sweet
Adeline Charlotte Deal and Dorothy Hope Deal were born at 11:28 a.m. and 11:29
a.m. respectively. The
Having now
begun my journey as a grandfather, I agree:
“There’s nothing like it!” (Rest
assured: more will come!)
