Birthdays – they come around once a year. When you’re young, you look forward to them….one more year until I can babysit…until I can drive…until I graduate high school…until I can legally go out to the bars…after that point – the older you get, the excitement slows down.
Until you have a baby. Then each week marker, month marker and year marker is exciting. Every time he or she learns something new – there’s a cheerleading squad standing by with excitement, looking forward to that next milestone.
In the blink of an eye, your baby graduates high school and eventually meets the love of her life.
The excitement slows down again. Well, until the day your daughter tells you she’s having a baby of her own. Then….at that moment, your life changes forever.
You are constantly dreaming about the day you get to meet your granddaughter – What will she look like? Who will she grow up to be?
She is welcomed into this beautiful world. Unfortunately you don’t get a chance to meet her because God has a plan of his own for you. He planted a fork in the road, and wanted to see how you would handle it.
It was no surprise to those who love you, that you handled that fork in the road like a champ. With all the prayers being prayed for you, there wasn’t a day that went by that you weren’t positive – looking forward to the time in your life when you’d be stronger again, when you’d be able to hold your sweet granddaughter in your arms.
Yesterday was your birthday. Another birthday rolled around – but this one didn’t leave you looking forward to the next milestone in your life. Instead, it left you looking forward to the next milestone in hers.
You got to hold your sweet granddaughter – (and I got to photograph it!)
Life may not be playing out the way you expected it to be, but I love that you are embracing each and every moment as it comes.
Even though Isabella is already 5-months-old, you now have the chance to be the grandpa you’ve been waiting to be! Hold her, love her, hug her – because you know first-hand she’ll grow up in the blink of an eye!
Happy Birthday, Marlin – and thank you to you and your family for allowing me to share in your big day!
