Karen Nazor HillSeveral weeks ago, I flew to California to spend time with my son and daughter-in-law, Kit and Bonnie, and my 11-month-old granddaughter, Charleana (sounds like Pollyanna).
Charleana was born in January 2017 in California, and I made it to the hospital just a few hours after she was born. I have seen her nearly every two months since then.
Still, seeing her every couple of months is much different than seeing my other three grandchildren, Tilleigh, 10, Evie, 7, and William, 5, every day. They live next door. I attend their swim meets (I take Evie to swim practice every week during fall, winter and spring). I go to their plays, their birthday parties, and we've never missed sharing Thanksgiving and Christmas together. I keep them in the summer and during any school breaks.
I know I won't have that privilege with Charleana.
But spending 10 days with her a few weeks ago bonded us for life. I feel as attached to her as I do my three little Chattanoogans. It showed me that love knows no distance. I can't be with her every day, but I can surely love her when we're together and when we're apart.
Charleana is a little person with a big personality, and every little thing she does melts my heart.
Within hours of being with her, she cried when I left the room. Even her daddy (my son) was surprised at her reaction. My son, a scientist, believes she recognized my scent through our DNA, which resulted in an instant bond.
I introduced her to "Sesame Street" (my children were big fans), and she fell in love with the characters and the music. I repeatedly sang a few songs to her so that she would become familiar with them. So, now, when we Facetime and I sing the songs, she, in her baby language, sings along, too.
Thank goodness for technology.
I can't imagine what goes on in a baby's brain when they see someone they love inside a smartphone or iPad. Still, she responds as if I were with her, and she even gives me slobbery kisses on the screen.
Charleana and her parents are coming to Chattanooga for Christmas, and for the third time this year, I will have my four grandchildren with me.
Every Christmas, I decorate a small portion of the woods that separates our property from that of our daughter Kacee's. My husband, Hank, cut a path through the woods that we call Tilleigh-Evie Boulevard. When William was born, we made another path and call it William's Candy Cane Lane.
Last week, I added a new circular path in the woods and named it Charleana Circle.
The connecting paths are lined with dozens of strings of colored lights, inflatables, a tacky plastic snowman and little drummer boy, and large handmade wooden decorations. Thankfully, we live on a dead-end street and you have to be visiting us to see it. It's not visible from the street, so neighbors don't have to be embarrassed by our tackiness.
But I can't wait to show it to Charleana.
Every evening, we'll take a walk on the paths. I can't wait to see her reaction, and, like her cousins, I know it will be something she'll look forward to every Christmas she comes to Chattanooga.
When my children were growing up, I loved the bond they had with my parents. Today, I share the same bond with my grandchildren, and, for that, I am most grateful. In my life, grandchildren are my gift for growing old. They're actually making it incredibly fun.
Email Karen Nazor Hill at khill@timesfreepress.com.