Austin

            ‘They’re here!” Art called to me after waiting all afternoon for Austin to arrive.  We rushed outside to the red Mini Cooper in the driveway with roof rack and shell just as Hayden was climbing out.  Jessica reached back to unbuckle Austin from the car seat after the 9-hour trip and handed him to me.  “Here he is,” she said with a warm smile. I took him and felt his warm body cuddle against mine. Looking over my shoulder he surveyed this new place he’d come to for the first time. “Welcome to Asheville and Grandma’s house, ”I told him.  Now 11 weeks old, this was the longest trip of his life.

            “He did great,” Hayden told us.  “Didn’t cry once and slept the whole way from Washington.”  Art and I were not surprised because after all, he has those family “travel” genes. (As a baby I crossed the Equator at least twice by the time I was a year old and so did Hayden.  While still in the womb Jessica carried Austin to Senegal and Ivory Coast and even to Seoul, Korea on her business trips.)

            When I took Austin into the house and put him down I could see how much he’d changed in nine weeks.  His eyes really are a clear medium blue that now look deeply into mine as he’s learned to focus on what is around him.  He has a sweet chubby face with double chins and fat strong thighs and skin that feels smoother than the most delicate soft velvet. The wisps of light reddish brown hair on his head are the subject of much speculation.  Jessica sweeps them up with her fingers to a point on his head in a punk rock style.  “This drives my mother crazy,” she told me.  It must be a generational thing because I agree with her mother. The ongoing discussion centers around whether Austin will have curls and what color his hair will eventually be. His little fists punch the air and when I put my index finger into his fist he grasps it strongly with long delicate fingers. No question he is the picture of health and the product of doting parents.

            Our weekend with Hayden and Jessica centered on Austin who is a perfect baby.  He is calm, quiet, and almost serene as he studies the world around him.  He never cries - only when he’s hungry.  Then, Jessica is ready in an instant to feed him before he can get going with any more distress signals.  Once fed, I burped him and then he wanted to exercise.  He fussed a bit until I put him down on his back preferably on his gym mat so that he could kick and stretch and punch with his fists.  He has this need to move now as if that is stimulating his growth and he’s strong.  Amazingly he is practicing for the day when he will roll himself over because he almost did it one morning on our living room floor.   When he tired of his exercise regime we would put him in his bouncy chair that vibrates and his eyelids would begin to droop. Before long he was taking a peaceful nap.

            Each day Hayden and family were here we took Austin to visit his Great grandmother Virginia.  Walking into Mom’s room at the nursing home she was resting in her blue recliner chair. Jessica walked right over and deposited Austin in the crook of her arm.  I watched Mom’s eyes light up like I hadn’t seen them in weeks as she gazed at him in awe lying quietly in her lap.  We rushed around taking dozens of photos as if we could save this special moment.   We can’t.  But after Austin had left to go home, I took the best photo of Mom holding Austin and put it in a frame right by her chair.  When she looks at it a smile creeps across her face and that glimmer of life comes into her eyes.  I know she remembers it all perfectly.

              Over the weekend I found myself memorizing Austin every minute he was awake or asleep.  I never tired of his facial expressions and movements and pictured telling him someday, “I can remember when you were a tiny baby visiting me for the first time and we were trying and get you to smile. But you took your time with that.”  I might tell him that he’s always had an independent streak wanting to do things his own way in his own time.  I might say with encouragement “ That’s a good thing and one of your best traits.” I like to imagine Austin having a special relationship with us and doing things together when he’s older that he will always remember.

            The highlight of the weekend for Art and me was being asked to babysit so that Jessica and Hayden could go out on a “date” on Saturday night, play tennis on Sunday, and even shop at the Discount Shoe Store.  Perhaps this is my inauguration into true "grandmotherhood"  because I was much more excited to stay home with Austin than to go anywhere.  
            As a grandparent, I have the perspective of how quickly children grow up and are gone from home into their own lives as Hayden is now.  Yet when we were new parents I remember feeling at times that raising a child seemed to go on forever.  My mother always said to me “savor each minute because it goes by quickly.”  I’d look at her and think that that is just what mothers say.  But she was right.  I find myself wanting to pass that along to Hayden and Jessica but they will find it out for themselves.

            Austin’s first visit to our house was perfect and made even more special because his great -grandmother is here.  He has no idea how much joy his presence in the world has brought to her.  I will make sure and tell him that someday because as his grandmother I intend to be part of his life for many years to come.