It's paaaaaarty time!!

No. 2 grandchild turns seven years old today - where have the years gone....?

It's also the last day of school where we live, so I'm going to pick the kids up after school lets out, we'll go to our local convenience store for a new bi-color Slurpee they've seen advertised, and then we'll come to my house for a little party, just the three of us. Family dinner tonight and the official party this coming Saturday with pals, but this afternoon is special.

When this sprout was born, he was fine for the first few hours, than, suddenly, he turned blue and got floppy...... whisked off to the neonatal ICU, he was put on a breathing machine and he pinked right back up. Over the course of several hours he was weaned off the breathing machine and was breathing well all on his own. Nevertheless, he had to stay overnight an extra bit in the hospital for monitoring. My daughter was too tired from the delivery to stay with the new baby, and she and my son-in-law wanted to be together during this worrisome time, and they also had No. 1 child to think about back at home. Nana to the rescue..... The new-born was on a monitor that beeped each time he did not take a breath within a certain number of seconds. I spent that night with this new little person lying on my chest, watching his every breath, afraid to move, afraid to sleep, afraid........ When morning came, his lusty cries and eager appetite proclaimed that whatever the glitch had been, it was most probably temporary, so his parents came and took him home with instructions to watch him very carefully. My son-in-law is a doctor, and was well able to do the watching.

This child is one of the healthiest and most active kids you'd ever hope to meet, and that scary night is a dim memory, but each and every day I say a prayer of thanksgiving for his blessed life.