I Fell in Love with Zander 


We get to know our grandson better. 

Stephen and I flew to Boston to spend a long Mother's Day weekend with daughter, Stephanie, her spouse, Dawn and granson, Alexander. It was the rainiest of the rainy days. Newspaper headlines shouted about streets flooding and rivers rising beyond flood stage. Everything was constantly damp. Their basement flooded, to be rescued by Joe, the next door neighbor, who knows about Boston storm sewers. New tree leaves, just barely hanging on, were lined by black marks munched by gypsy moths. Wet and limp lilacs bowed gracefully under the water weight.

But inside, it might as well have been Christmas, as the warmth of a young son filled our eyes and ears and hearts and souls (and occasionally, noses). Stephanie is successfully breast-feeding Alexander, and so the day is more or less scheduled around his hunger and his sleeping. He's a cheerful and pleasant little kid for the most part. His moms love him dearly. You can check the latest pictures of him out on his website, Zander's Zecrets.

His natural grandpa, Stephen, held him right away when we arrived, and there was clearly a little bond that was there between them. Alexander watched Stephen and gave him a big smile. I was a bit more timid, but the next morning, we had good practice at taking care of Zander, because mom went to work and mommie went to the dentist. Everything went perfect for the first hour. He has lots of little toys and mobiles, a Fisher-Price swing to sleep in, a Jumperoo to practice walking in, and a little training stool to practice sitting. And he sure does love to be held and cuddled.

Alexander also has a very active side. He is big and strong, weighing almost 19 pounds at nearly six months. You do have to be careful and hold him firmly. This is no wimpy lad. He loves to practice walking, as long as you hold him up, and he can almost stand by himself. Also, when you lay him down on the floor or on the bed on his back, he likes to alternate kicking his legs very rapidly doing "air steps." And he is good at turning himself over, though he is not yet strong enough to crawl.

There were also only two occasions during our long weekend stay when Alexander became a very unhappy camper. When that happens, he cries and cries, and then has to occasionally cough, since like with everything else he does, this boy is a strong crier. The first time he lost it was an hour into our taking care of him for Stephanie's trip to the dentist. We didn't have any breast milk to feed him, and that was clearly the only thing that was going to do. Fortunately, Steph called about 10 minutes into this crying jag, and hurried right home. The other time was when we got out of the art museum from seeing the Laura McPhee exhibit. We were supposed to pick Dawn up from her paint job and Stephanie was driving. By the time we got home, the little guy was miserable. But, after being fed, he looked no worse for the wear.

And EVERY OTHER TIME we saw him, he was friendly, interested presence in our lives. No trouble at all. I have to admit, by the second day, I was hooked—I was in love with Alexander. Babies are beautiful and always a blessing in our lives, but there's something even MORE special about holding your own baby or grand baby. That little love just nestles into your arms, and you feel, well, just great, even though you are a grandpa traveling at the speed of light toward your eternal rest. Thank you ladies, thank you Zander. I will be back soon!

Love, Jim 

Posted: Wed - May 17, 2006 at 03:49 PM          

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