Lily.... Seems like she was a baby not that long ago....

Lily is my oldest grandchild.  She is an amazing little girl.  I remember the lullaby that played in the halls of the hospital to share with the everyone that a baby was born.  I remember walking into the room at 11 PM and looking in the basinet at the first baby gal who made me a grandparent.  She was a perfect baby.  It seems that we were all holding her as a newborn the other day. That’s how fast I think time has gone.  She is truly the sweetest child I have ever encountered.  She’s such a caring gal.  She is six.  I’m not sure how that happened. 

Lily has her routine at our house.  She comes in and immediately finds Timpa and crawls up on his lap and reviews her life.  She tells him about anything she feels is important.  It is a sweet bond that I hope never goes away.  It’s I think important for both of them. 

I am Lily’s craft buddy.  Since she was one, I would find some kind of crafts to do with her.  She has painted many bird houses and boxes to store keys in.  We have made candles out of flaked wax.  We also cook together.  She is a pro at making hotdogs wrapped in crescent roll dough. 

Truthfully, when I see her now that she is in kindergarten, I realize how quickly she is growing up.  Just as my own kids did.  She’s riding a bike.  She has lost 2 baby teeth.  It’s crazy.

When we are in the car we play the food game.  Essentially we will choose a food, say the color and what group of food it is in.  We take turns asking questions until one of us guesses the food.  Not long ago she was talking to Timpa about a book.  We stopped and got it.  I was more than impressed at her reading skills.  The book that she wanted was not a child’s starter book.

Lily is clearly an English brained gal.  She has a vocabulary far beyond her age.  Often she will ask what the “definition of a word is, then you will hear her incorporate it later.  When she eats she likes to spell words.  She’s reasonably hard to trip up.

In my eyes, I think I am developing a bond similar to what I had with my grandmother.  I want to be her biggest cheerleader.   I want her to always know that she is important to both Tim and me. 

When my own kids grew up I used to say that I would give anything to hold them on my lap as small children just once more.  With Lily, she still does sit on my lap.  We discuss nothing specific. 

Once more I am able to understand the importance of unconditional love.  I am able to cherish the hug of a little Lily. 

No one criticize me for zeroing in on Lily.  I have three more grandbabies and I adore and cherish each of them.  Lily though, is quickly evolving our relationship into a relationship of a child, not a toddler or baby.  I’m on some level, again finding myself watch a childhood fly by, but no one can freeze it in time. So I am trying to absorb the special moments.