Growing up, I really never knew my grandparents. Two of them passed away by the time I was 2 years old, and of course I have no memories of them. The other two were there, but not really around. They weren't really the 'grandparent' type. Even though we lived with one of them for quite awhile, I don't actually have very many memories of him because he was hardly ever there. This isn't meant to be a pity party for Leah, because it doesn't really make me sad. I think it bothered my parents (my mother especially) a whole lot more than it ever bothered me. In the end, it's not really a big deal. I just didn't know them. They are both passed away now and so technically I'm grandparent-less. I never wanted for grandparent affection though, I had sort of 'adopted' grandparents. My cousin's grandparents always treated me like one of their own, which made me feel very special, and my dad had a secretary who worked for him for years, right about the time his mother passed away, who became a sort of surrogate mother to him and a grandparent to myself. To this day she is my 'grandma' Marlene, and Gabe will know her as his great-grandma. When I told her, that she teared up and it was one of the sweetest things I've ever seen.
What is the point of this ramble about grandparents? I got to thinking about it when we went to visit my parents this weekend. Watching my parents dote on Gabe just fills my heart with Joy. They absolutely adore him, love to hold him and play with him, comfort him when he is sad...it makes me so happy to watch how much they care for him. It's the same with my inlaws. Every time my father-in-law sees him, he says what a beautiful baby Gabriel is, how SMART he will be, how ADVANCED he is for his age (I love my son, but he's just right on time for all his milestones. If you asked my father-in-law he'd say that Gabe is just the smartest little baby he's ever seen). Both sets of grandparents spend way too much money on him and just love to spend as much time as possible with him. Sometimes my inlaws call asking if Nathan and I want to get out of the house - just so they can watch Gabe.
It's pretty obvious that Gabriel's grandparents are going to spoil him rotten, and I wouldn't have it any other way.
