What a Christmas Present...

Our son, Doug, and his wife, Danika, were here for Christmas this past year. When parents live in different parts of the country, it often means going one place one year and the other for the following year. However, this time they were pretty insistent that Danika's parents come up and share a Christmas with us. We figured something was up, but we'd let them tell us when we were all together. The last time both families got together was my retirement ceremony at the Pentagon in September of '06. That's when they informed us they were getting married. Well, as an old Army saying goes, I may have been born in the dark, but it wasn't yesterday. We figured something was up this time, too.

On Christmas morning, they presented the moms with a nice green book which bore the title: "Grandma and Grandpa's BRAG BOOK." Inside was the picture you see at the right. We thought it looked like a little lima bean, so that kinda became it's first nickname -- Baby Bean.

Needless, to say, everyone is so excited. This will be Pam's and my first grandchild. We're learning, or being modernized I should say, of all the new baby things and how it is done today -- especially in NY city. Ever since we got the news, I've been looking for that book -- you know -- "Grandparenting for Dummies." This is going to be an educational adventure, an ongoing experience we've all been waiting for for a long time.

Whichever sex it is, I look forward to teaching it how to fish, maybe row a canoe in a straight line, and camp out. The adventure is about to begin.

“A baby is God's opinion that the world should go on.” (Carl Sandburg)

Hooah