The Joy and Blessing of Becoming a Grandparent by Al Duthie Sometime in mid-October or late October my wife Holli and I will become first time grandparents. As I write this article on August 28th it is with much anticipation and joy of looking forward to the future memories that will be created. We are truly blessed. Many of you readers have experienced our current emotions and what we look for ward to. Others, I hope, will get to do so. Our daughter Emily, and husband Mike, will be bringing a little girl, Claire Hollister David, into this ever-changing world. As I reflect and think back to 32 years ago when our first child was born, wow, have things changed for parents in terms of society, expectations, and financial needs! Holli and I believe that there are now more challenges faced by parents, along with more legitimate concerns and worries for their children. Holli and I have made a pact that we will provide as much support to Emily and Mike as they ask for, but we will not interfere with their daily lives and how they raise their children. They are both in their early 30’s and are mature adults, in fact, probably more mature and worldly than we were at their age! But, as I said above, that will be required in order to properly raise Claire to be a productive citizen and member of society. Well, enough of my opinions and philosophy on the difficulty par- ents have now a days. Let’s talk about the emotions for grandparents. What are Holli and I feeling? We share many of the same emotions. At the top of our list is pure joy and happiness at the miracle of birth that will occur in about 2 months. I know Holli can’t wait to simply hold and rock little baby Claire. It will give her such peace and joy and love. I can’t wait to see that! There are a multitude of emotions that I am feeling when I think of being a grandparent. The collection includes excitement, anticipation, pride, uncertainty, and responsibility. I can’t wait to be able to celebrate for Emily and Mike a new phase/stage in their lives together. I am proud of who they have become together, and how they are achiev- ing their goals and dreams in life. But, at the same time I do worry some about what the world will evolve into over the next 20-25 years. And I do feel some responsibility to Claire in terms of teaching some of the right things to do in life, through some of my life lesson stories. I guess this falls under passing on some wisdom because of my age and situations that I have learned from. As Holli and I embark on another phase of life, being grandparents, we realize that we can’t control the overall safety for Claire or control the costs of raising children for Emily and Mike, however, we do envision all the posi- tive opportunities that Claire will be blessed with, including loving parents and grandparents, future education, travel, interests, etc. The speed of change in this world will continue to accelerate, and Claire, like the rest of us, is going to be part of that. We grandparents must try to keep-up with it! And Holli and I plan to give it our best try! Crest Foods will be closed on November 23 & 24 to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday. Crest Foods will be closed December 25 & 26 in observance of the Christmas holiday. Wishing you and yours a wonderful Christmas season. Crest Foods will be closed January 1, 2018 for celebration of the New Year! Have a safe and happy New Year!
26 Crest Ink October, November & December 2017
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