Well,
without divulging too many trade secrets, I will continue. Whatever they did in their own most special
of moments, all three of our boys managed to get the question out and all three
of them received the answer they were hoping for. And apparently, each of their girls managed
to submerge their feelings of “It’s about time” and responded with happiness
and I hope at least a hug. I don’t
know. I wasn’t there.
So now I
had not just my wife and my Mom, but also three other women in my life. Three beautiful young ladies who made the
ultimate overture possible toward my sons … they didn’t reject them. They didn’t break their hearts (at least not
completely or too many times. Hey, I
know about a guy’s heart. It is
incredibly fragile, but he’ll never let on).
They accepted them. They loved
them. For all that, I am eternally
grateful to my daughters. Sorry, I don’t
even know how to do the daughter thing, much less daughter-in-law, so I’m all
in with them. They are family. Valentines number three, four and five have
officially taken up residence in my heart.
Oh, but
the story does not stop there. These
girls teamed up with my boys and together they produced that most marvelous of
marvels … grandchildren. A boy. Another boy.
Another boy. OK. There’s three. I know what to do with three boys. I grew up with two brothers. I raised these three sons. Boys are good. Another boy.
Hey, the more the merrier, right?
Bring him on. That’s what
Vaughan’s do, right? Have some
sons. And then the unthinkable
happened. What? A girl?
Wait. This changes everything. A sixth Valentine. A baby girl.
I … I … I am speechless. She is
beautiful. I have no idea how to do
this. Will she break when I hold
her? So when does all the drama kick in
that I have heard about? Very confusing
time. But then … another boy. Phew. Are
we back into the routine now? Another
pregnancy. And … another girl. Not as high a degree of stress as before, but
just as much Valentine-ish mush in my head and heart. And finally (at least for now) one more
birth. And one more boy. My head still spins when I think about this
whole grandparenting thing. How in the
world God can create eight entirely different, entirely perfect (Like I said,
I’m a grandparent), tiny little human beings is totally beyond me.
But this
is a Valentine’s Day story, right? My
tally of Valentines now stands at seven.
Mom is gone physically but she’ll always be hanging around in her
designated portion of my heart. Chris
holds a huge chunk of real estate in there as well. Christina and Christi and April all have
staked a claim, whether they want it or not.
And now there is Cailyn. She the
one who just the other day needed some help with a necklace. Nana couldn’t get the clasp open for some
reason, so Cailyn confidently advised her, “I’ll get DadDad to open it. He can do it because he is 61.” Necklace intervention. Apparently a task for which I have been
grooming for 61 years. I have
arrived. And the newest Valentine to
storm her way into my heart? That would
be Noa. She’s the one who quietly walks
up to me as I sit at my computer, patiently waiting until I acknowledge her
presence (how does a one-year-old do that, anyway?). And when I do say my patented, “Hello,” she
responds by pointing to the painting on my wall, the one of the old man with
gnarled fingers praying at a table, and she says, “DadDad. It’s DadDad.”
Now come on. Who doesn’t want his
granddaughter to remember him as the old dude who was praying? And when she finally has my attention, and
wants some one-on-one DadDad time, she flashes that little grin of hers, grabs
her own belly, and says, “Get you me.”
That, of course, is one-year-old code for “Come tickle me.” The dictionary definition of “Irresistible”
as far as I’m concerned.
So … Who’s
your Valentine? As far as this old coot
is concerned, I have seven … count ‘em … seven of the sweetest gifts from God I
could ever have hoped for. So here goes
… Mom … Chris … Christina … Christi … April … Cailyn … Noa … If you have enough
room, Will you be my Valentines?
1 John 4:7-8 says, “Dear friends, let us
love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of
God and knows God.”
Father,
thank you for each one of the special young ladies you have placed in my
heart. Watch over them. Protect their hearts. Let them know they are greatly loved by you …
and me. Amen.
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