In 1991 my husband and I had two daughters. One daughter, Ramey, was four at the time, and the other, Teal, was one. It was a mind blowingly new experience for me. The two girls, were, of course, polar opposites, so what we had learned from being Ramey's parents didn't really apply to Teal-- completely new rule book. Having the girls was such a cataclysmic event that I now see my life being divided into two halves: before daughters and after. I hadn't gone into motherhood with any confidence about the kind of mother I would make, but the powers that be knew what they were doing, and, to my surprise, I found I was actually a capable mother. They girls are now adults and recently Ramey presented us with a grandson, who is currently one year old. I was filled with trepidation about how I would be as a grandmother, all my parenting of babies skills being long forgotten. But once again, the gods smiled on me, and I found myself head over heals in love with this small, extremely powerful little man. The main difference being that this time I know just how quickly time will pass, and that, in the blink of an eye, our new baby won't be as a baby anymore.
