More Than One Thousand

                            

Thanks for this picture, Kristen

I have them all over; probably over 1,000 pictures of Ryan our oldest grandchild who is thirteen today.  Many of the pictures are in albums (thank goodness).  But many are still in the camera, on the computer or filed by date or even on thumb drives.  What a happy occasion it is when a grandchild is born and the first is always a highlight that you remember every detail of.  I must say though, I feel the same about the births of all seven of our grandchildren. It is amazing how I remember little details of their birth.  I was in Chicago when Ryan was born early and I got to be there for his birth.  What a special privilege that was.   
Back in the days before digital cameras, I took tons of pictures and then I took them to the one-hour photo place and had doubles made.  Then, my daughter took some of the same pictures of her newborn as I did and we finally caught on to that and stopped taking the same pictures.   
The hardest thing for me about Ryan being born was that he was three-and-a-half weeks early and was just under six pounds and they live so far away.  Chicago might as well have been China for his grammy.  I retired from my job early and traveled back and forth to Chicago every two or three weeks.  And then because number two and three came pretty fast after that, I was there a lot.  I think back and hope I wasn't a pest of a grandmother telling my daughter what to do.  I think I tried that twice and learned my lesson.  
I have so many happy memories of my times with the kids there and it has been a long time since I have been there myself.  Don was working then and sometimes he took a long weekend to go with me. 
Ryan is a super kid, with a tender heart and I am loving him more today than the day he was born. Happy 13th Birthday Ryan; you've reached one of life's milestones.  Wonder if Kristen will need some help next fall with a teenager in the house?  Should I see if Amtrak still goes to Chicago?   

Thanks for this picture too.