We were there.  The call came; our Kbear was in labor; please come.  And so we pressed the speed limit over the too-long drive to be the first to meet our first and only granddaughter.  We were there.  We will never forget it because she is every ounce worth the remember.

Funny things pop out in the remembering.  Mom had labored, but Dad sprawled over the chair’s edges, exhausted.  Friends hosted us for the night, but their dogs tucked us in and slept with us.  And bathroomed with us.  Bill put out an all-alert-coffee-shop search for me, but apparently most new grandmas don’t need coffee because there were none to be found.

Today she is 10.  10!   Our littlebear is 10!  Happy Birthday to our littlebear from the birthday grandma and birthday grandpa.  We are both still as jazzed as day one.  She belongs to us!

For Gpa Bill’s sake, in case he needs a brusher-up, this is our girl:

She talks about you, Babe.  She “Oh Bother’s” after a Winnie-the-Pooh read, just like you.  She sneaks your green M&Ms and sprays silly string out her nose.    She’s a 9er fan and, especially, a family fan.  Just like you.

She’s absolutely beautiful.  Still as curly and girly, but would rather shoot the hoop than shake the pom pom.  She bakes and draws and sings and reads and runs.  She thinks she’s really good at all of that.  And, as we grandparents both know, she is.   She’s part child, part adult.  Part pretend and act-it-out, part no-nonsense and insightful.  Part fingernail polish, part tromp-in-the-creek.  Respectful, obedient, kind, happy — absolutely beautiful.

I know if you were with us, Babe, she would tightly wrap you around her pinky.  You would be at every event, 20 minutes early, in the reserved-for-VIP seats.  You would take her, pick her up, hang out while she skates, eavesdrop on her friend circles, buy that and two more.  You would take me to her party tonight, be the first through the door, swing her around, oooo over every present, and eat half her birthday cobbler.   For your sake, I will do that for you.  I will be the birthday Gpa and Gma.  I will celebrate this gift we’ve been given, to you and to me, for you and for me.

Ten years old.  She belongs to us.  We, you and me, belong to her.