I’ve been thinking a lot about birthdays this past week.

Last Friday, February 28th, was Laura’s 30th birthday. She was hoping that it might be a BIRTH day as well, but it ended up being a day of celebration with her son (during the day) and husband (dinner.) I spent time thinking about my 30-year old self that had delivered Laura that year and the feisty and fun little girl that she had been. A letter found amongst my Mom’s things, had reminded me of how much I’d enjoyed Laura at 11 months. I’d also brought home this framed picture of Laura that had been on my Mom’s dresser for many years.

The next day, March 1st, was my Mom’s birthday, another hoped-for birthdate for this new baby. I received an email reminder from Myheritage.com of her birthday and a suggestion that I might want to send her a message. So I did: I enjoyed imagining her first heavenly birthday and also caught her up on the news here. It was a day of mixed emotions, many tears, and a lot of frenzied activity in Detroit as they finished the final touches of preparing to put the house on the market next week. They picked up the key to Dad’s new apartment and moved some of his excess furniture and many boxes to the new place. He will wait to move after the condo is sold, but the process has begun. The day passed without the hoped-for birth of great-grandchild number nine.

And finally, early this morning, March 4th, Oaks Samuel Birkey was born! Laura and Taylor labored most of the yesterday while we entertained Kellen and waited for our grandson’s arrival. I stayed up late (knitting) and then didn’t sleep well with my I-Phone at the bedside, sending and receiving reports of his progress. Not only were we waiting to hear news from Taylor, but we were keeping in touch with Anne while she waited on the other side of the world for the news. We were invited to meet our grandson around 5 a.m., and of course, we dressed quickly and made our way to the hospital (where Laura was born) to see him.  It was fun watching Kellen meet his new brother, his “baby that was borrrrn.” He told him that he shouldn’t be afraid of him, because he wasn’t going to hurt him. (He said the same thing to our dog Luna yesterday.) This is Laura holding up one of Kellen’s birth pictures next to the new baby to see how much they look alike.

Three emotion-filled birthdays. Four generations, with me–the second generation, now the “old” one in the lineup, sandwiched in the middle. Celebrating my adult daughter; missing my mother, and welcoming a sweet new baby in our midst. I think I’ll sleep well tonight.