Making it my own

I ran into a friend of mine at the gym this morning, and she, too, is having a grandchild mid-February.We grandparents-to-be have created a kind of bond, sharing updates, stories and our thoughts and feelings about the whole grandchildren thing. For a time, there were seven of us expectant grandparents, but now we are six. One had a happy and healthy little girl just yesterday. Some of us are first timers, others are old hands. But the excitement seems just as true for those of us who've done this before as for us newbies. As I ponder this I am struck by the seasons of our lives. My friends and I  are all roughly within the same age bracket, give or take a few years, and we are reaching many of the same milestones at the same time. It seems we're ready to experience this new phase and make it our own, to leave some things behind and start some things new. Except baby boomers never do anything quietly or easily. We may have "grand" before our names, but we're not ready to let ourselves go gray, frumpy, lumpy or slack. We're getting advanced degrees, we're down-dogging our way to centeredness, we're still trying for that six pack and our hairdressers are the only ones who really know for sure. We're starting new careers and winding down old ones. We're finding love, and we think that's as it should be. We'll be active, engaged and amazing grandparents. We must.