I had my first daughter on the first day of my last semester of law school, by C Section. I missed a whole month then nursed my newborn in class and changed her on desktops while teaching classes myself. I took the bar exam as a nursing mother. July. Chicago. She was hot and hungry. I developed mastitis. We survived.
I had my second daughter while clerking for a federal judge. I missed two weeks of work and then brought my baby into chambers for the five months left on my clerkship. The accommodation allowed me to have a baby and still do the work that needed to be done. It was unusual at the time and remains uncommon today. I was extraordinarily lucky. The challenges I faced as a new mother were not the same as those of my mother or grandmothers. I have always drawn strength from knowing they overcame everything life threw at them and succeeded in fostering a new generation.
Michael took over as primary care giver when I started lawyering full time. We made it work, but I have more attention available to focus on my Grands.

A house full of babies. Not as full as my mom’s or my grandmothers’, but fuller than I could possibly hope.

At four and a half, the Grand Girl not only is a competent cookie cutter, but has the attention span and coordination to roll tamales. She noticed when I put sprinkles on the Christmas Birthday cake. Who knew sprinkles could cause such wonder? Could I have forgotten how much my girls loved to decorate with sprinkles? It is good to have reminders.

The Petite Grand looks like a Villa girl. She smiles more than any baby I’ve seen. My uncles always said I looked like their mom, my grandmother, whom I never met. Persephone is the image of Irene when younger, who is the image of her mother. Michael looks eerily like his grandfather. Beanie Boy is cut from the same cloth as his father. We are introduced to our forebears through our children.

Irene is the Great Grand Girl of the bunch. The Grand Girl loves to go and visit Irene in her in-law apartment. If ever I needed to find either one, I knew where to look.

Poor Beanie Boy gets more rough play (being anywhere near Michael’s beard is rough!). He will have to be extra tough with two girl cousins to deal with. There were 5 boys and 3 girls in my family. My dad always said it came out even.

The Grand Girl loved going over the snow jump her dad made for her. She is his shadow.

The Petite Grand has the physical strength and activity level of her sister. Their mom was a floppy child. She chose a partner with coordination and a love of play not common in our family. Good choice!

Beanie Boy, like his Momma, can be both fussy as well as super charming. His father brings a level of calmness and good humor to them all, for which I am ever grateful.
Finding out who your children are is like seeing a flower bloom or any growing thing come to fruition. I can hardly wait to find out who these small people have inside them and what new thing they will become.