Grandchildren are the dots that connect the lines from generation to generation.
~ Lois Wyse
(Funny, You Don’t Look Like a Grandmother)
1.17.15 ~ Billerica, Massachusetts
Saturday we spent the day north of Boston, visiting Katie, who was visiting some friends there with her mother. Katie the observer, she is definitely an observer, bright-eyed and curious. She had grown a lot in the month since we saw her last.
Things have been relatively quiet around here. We’ve postponed some plans because a few relatives and friends have caught that severe flu going around. I haven’t had the flu since 1988 and I hope to keep it that way! We get flu shots every year, but this strain mutated and this year’s vaccine is only about 33% effective.
And the nursing home where my aunt lives is under quarantine, because of the flu outbreak, which may interfere with our plans to celebrate her 100th birthday on the 30th. So far she hasn’t caught it.
Zoë, who normally has excellent litter box habits, got the trots. Poor thing was doing her best to get to the box on time but we had a day of cleaning up after her. She wouldn’t eat and she didn’t want to be around us, but she is now back to her hungry, sweet, affectionate self.
And so I am enjoying my winter rest, puttering around the house, watching the birds, wishing for a little more snow, pruning my family tree (still), and making travel plans. My eyes get very bleary reading these travel guides……
We find delight in the beauty and happiness of children that makes the heart too big for the body.
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
(The Conduct of Life)
Beautiful post!~ Thanks for sharing and all the best to you and yours, Aquileana 🙂
Thank you, Aquileana! I’m pleased to know you enjoyed my little slice-of-life post. 🙂
aw that’s so lovely. Katie’s so photogenic. We can see the pleasure she brings you and Timothy.
Thanks, Rosie. We ejoy being with Katie so much that we often forget to take pictures. Wondering what Katie will think of these pictures when she gets a little older…
Sweet ! A day in the life of Barbara and family!!
Thanks, Jeff! It’s amazing how a new little one breathes new life into our days!
I absolutely adore the photographs you shared!
Thank you, Laurie!
No wonder your heart is too big for your body…..couldn’t you just hug Katie forever?! What a delightful little soul she is. <3
Stay healthy, Barbara. We have coughs, colds and flu bugs doing the rounds here as well, brought about by the hot weather, proving that any change in the temperature can cause such ailments.
Oh yes, Joanne, I could definitely hug Katie forever! But of course, it is impossible for me to be objective about how delightful she is. 🙂
It’s interesting that you are having so much illness during your summer months – around here you don’t hear of people getting sick in the summer, unless it is something like Lyme Disease from tick bites or West Nile Virus from mosquito bites.
Katie is adorable. What a proud set of grandparents here, one can tell! So glad you are able to spend time with her, that you’re close enough. The threat of the flu just cancelled my children’s tentative plans to go visit their grandparents in Georgia. Darn it. K was exposed and her grandma is recovering from a life-threatening illness and can’t be around the flu. We spent all yesterday conferring about it. So nice to see this post!
P.S. Am enjoying looking at the “current moon” phase here on your sidebar. Who would have known it was 24% full right now?
Well, North Carolina is a long way from Connecticut, but I think they will keep finding as many excuses to fly up here as we are finding to fly down there.
Kathy, I think you were all very wise to cancel the trip since Grandma’s immune system has no doubt been weakened from her recent illness. The quarantine at Auntie’s nursing home was finally lifted and my sister went to see her yesterday. She found that six patients had died from the flu during the quarantine, but Auntie was one of the few who didn’t even catch it. This strain of flu is not one to take lightly.
I love checking on the moon phases – it amazes me that some humans were clever enough to notice and measure and predict the cycles.
Dear Barbara, Greetings to you. Katie is so cute & adorable. I love the first picture where you are holding her.
Infants bring so much of joy along.
Thank you, Sonali! Naturally, as a doting, lovesick grandmother, I feel Katie is the most wonderful baby on the planet right now, and she has brought more joy into our lives than we ever thought possible!
Hey Barbara, Yes, thanks for this update on the family. All three photos are gorgeous, each with a different feeling. I’ll bet you’re happy that you’re going to get that snow you wanted! We do have winter here in the South, but it’s definitely a different kind of winter. Our daffodils are starting to poke up, though they won’t bloom for a long time yet. Enjoy the blizzard.
Well, Susan, I should have been much more careful about what I wished for! It just started snowing – I threw out a little extra seed for the birds. We’re supposed to get 15-30 inches. Tim set up the live camera and put the yardstick out on the balcony so Nate can watch the blizzard and measure the snow from his home in Georgia. (Poor Nate, he misses New England so much…) As long as we don’t lose power we will definitely enjoy the blizzard!
Blizzard-cam! What a great idea.
A grandbaby. How can that not make your heart swell !
Travel brochures are wonderful. I always say that there are three parts to a trip, with the trip itself being the shortest part. There’s the joy of the planning, and scheming and dreaming, then the wondrous trip itself and there are the life-long memories.
Hope the coming storm is not too severe.
Just went out and gazed at that Waxing Crescent Moon !
Joy is a moonlit walk in a winter garden… Delight is holding a sweet little grand-baby… Wonder is watching the birds prepare for a blizzard…
Is this storm supposed to make it up to Nova Scotia, Sybil?
You know, it just struck me a couple of days ago, I’ve been dreaming about this trip to Norway for most of my 58 years, and when I finally do go, it will be over with in just a week or ten days. You’re so right, the trip will be the shortest part. But I can look forward to savoring those memories the rest of my life.
Hi Barbara. Happy Katie is the definition of happy. Those eyes!!! Jane
I couldn’t agree with you more, Jane! We simply can’t seem to get enough of this little bundle of joy, but she’s planning to come visit us for a weekend in March…
I’m a bit jealous but I’ll be patient. My sister shares her grand-children with me. Jane
It’s hard to be patient, I know… I have a feeling that your grandnephews and/or grandnieces adore you.