I Am A Grandmother - Waiting for Jessie

I am the mother of three sons.  I have always said that I LOVED raising boys.   

Joey, Michael and Marc....aren't they darling!!

I loved the spontaneity, the dirty faces, the muddy shoes, the treasures in their pockets, their openness, their daredevil approach to life.  My sons were very different from each other in many ways, but they were “all boy” in others.  Through the years I tripped over balls, little toy soldiers, plastic monsters.  I picked up football cards.  I listened to the sound of the baseball being thrown against the back wall as one son continued to practice fielding the ball, and the sound of the basketball being bounced in the driveway as another perfected his shots.  I fed the stray dogs that were brought home.  Weekends were filled with the sound of the TV announcers giving play-by-play of the season’s sport.  I sat in numerous bleachers, watching “my numbered jersey” perform athletic feats, and I clutched my heart as young bodies sped off on motorcycles.  I LOVED my boys.  

My mother used to worry about me because I didn’t have a daughter.  She feared I would be alone when my sons married.  She would quote the old adage… "A son is a son till he takes him a wife, a daughter’s a daughter for the rest of her life.” I told her not to worry.  I was going to work at being the best mother-in-law I could be and was sure my sons would choose women who would accept me into their lives.  And they did!

My beautiful, wonderful daughters-in-Love....Milli and Charlotte.

Each of my sons has fathered a son.  I sat in waiting rooms 3 times and heard the words… “It’s a boy!” And again, as a Grandmother, I revisit all the experiences of being surrounded by young boys exploring their place in the world.

Now a new dynamic is about to enter my life.  I am going to have a granddaughter. My youngest son, Marc, and his wife Charlotte, are going to have a little girl.  Marc was supposed to be my girl.  After 2 boys, I was sure this third child would be female.  Her name would be Maria.  However, “It’s a boy” Dr. McBride announced as he delivered Marc, not Maria...and from the moment Marc was placed in my arms he entered my heart.  So I guess it is fitting that he is the child who gives me my granddaughter.

Marc and Charlotte presented this to me to announce the baby's gender!

Her name will be Jessie Patricia Altieri.  She will be born on Monday, September 26 by C-section at Long Beach Memorial Hospital.  We will all be in the waiting room, even Big Brother Gino.   

Gino in his "Promoted to Big Brother" shirt!

I am so excited to meet this new little person.  She comes from long lines of strong women on both sides of her family, women who could take of themselves and others; women who were not afraid to try new things…new lands…new sports…new ventures; women who were not felled by adversity or problems; women who believed in themselves and were leaders of others.  I am sure that some of that unique DNA will be passed along to her. 

Thank you, Marc and Charlotte for the gift of this new grandchild and Jessie Patricia, we are all waiting for you with open arms!

Charlotte's Hospital Suitcase