Good day

Today is Tuesday and mom just left. She came in yesterday to watch Garrett while I went to my dr visit (I do them every other monday) and stayed the night with us. We had the best time. I love getting to spend time with her like that and miss her now that she's gone. We didn't really do anything specific,but it was just the time together that was so wonderful. It's funny - I spent 16 years living less than 15 miles from her house and it seems like we spend better (more quality) time together now that I live 150 miles away. We didn't see eachother like we should have the last few years that I lived in Atlanta - just life getting in the way all the time. I will also see them all next week as I am driving in to Atl on Monday for a few days - it's Daddy's birthday (he'll be 59).

Seeing them with Garrett just makes me so incredibly happy. They are so enamored with him and, of course, he loves the attention. It really makes me happy to see daddy with him - he is more playful and effusive with Garrett than he was with brother. To me the relationship with grandparents is so crucial for children. I feel that they offer something that parents cannot - it is the unconditional love and acceptance without boundaries or constraints. Mommy's and daddy's, obviously, love their children this way but they have the responsibility of teaching, enforcing rules, applying boundaries and general raising. The grandparents get to skip the more tedious part (the actual parenting) and get to just love and enjoy the child in a way the parent cannot. I had a little of this growing up (mom's parents were this way but they lived out of town) and I want my children to have as much of this as they can. I think the relationship between grandparent and grandchild is just incredible.

Mom says that she is going to try to come in about once a month and spend the night - I truly hope she does. It is good for all of us to see eachother, and especially good for Garrett. I am also going to drive in to see them fairly regularly now that brother and Amy are moving into their house (we'll have a place to stay when we go).

Well, off here to go see about dinner. We were going to meet Kevin's mom and her photogopher friend at a park for another round of pictures but it is starting to rain so we're rescheduling. Honestly, I'll take the rain - it's been months since we've had any real rain here and keeping our landscaping live is killing us.

a