Of Babies, Blizzards and Extraordinary Grandparents

Today, January 24th, is my son’s 31st birthday. What a day that was – the blizzard of ’78 was just beginning and would soon have the whole state shut down, including the highways. Fortunately my husband and I lived just three blocks from the hospital in Charlevoix. Located on the shore of Lake Michigan, this hospital would welcome a wonderful baby boy to the world. A long and difficult delivery was punctuated by the drama of a historic blizzard that had my hospital roommates coming to the hospital on snow mobiles because the roads were not passable for most cars. I remember looking out the hospital window that late after noon after Evan had arrived and seeing the steely blue lake through the falling snow.

After a 36 hour labor I was ready for a bit of sleep. What a shock to wake up several hours later and not be able to see out the window because the snow had drifted over the roof of the hospital. It was about then that I realized that my son was not in the room with me and I began to worry. I got out of bed and shuffled across the hall to the nursery to investigate. There he was, my son, with a makeshift baby bottle nipple as pacifier in his mouth. Apparently the nurses didn’t want to wake me up to try nursing. Likely fueled by a dramatic post partum effect, I sank to the floor sobbing because I was “unable” to care for my son. Never did I need my mother more than I did that moment.

I don’t remember calling my mother, but it wasn’t long before she and my Dad were at my side, ready to embrace their first grandchild and offer me the love and support I needed as a new mom. It was later that I learned that Mom and Dad braved the blizzard and drove the 200+ miles from Lansing to be there. I’m not sure how long it took, but I know that they were stopped by the State Police because the roads were open only for emergency travel. To them, this was an emergency. It was this passionate love for their ,as yet unseen, grandchild that characterized my parent’s transition into grandparenthood. Over the years, I couldn’t have had a better role model for my own journey from parenthood into the role of grandparent.

Happy Birthday Evan. You are a wonderful young man, a fantastic dad and someday (a long time from now) I hope to witness your transition to a fabulous grandparent.