Just call me Grace.. or Marie

After the birth of my third grandchild I was invited to stay with Nathan and Brianna to help them get settled in. Well, ok, maybe I wasn’t invited so much as I said, “Hey, I’ll come and stay with you guys when you bring Kennedy home.” They didn’t object so in my world that meant that they were totally okay with it. Works for me.

I was on my very best behavior. I cooked, I cleaned up after myself, and when I had the opportunity I held Kennedy (her parents are baby hogs.) I was in nurture heaven. This is where I excel. Give me someone to feed and a baby to hold and I’m where I belong.

On Kennedy’s second night home she was fussier than she had been the evening before. Nathan came downstairs to wake me and ask for a bit of a break. I’ve never been great with sleep deprivation; even when I try to fake it, I’m a zombie at best. I sprang up ready to comfort my precious granddaughter. I wrapped her like a baby burrito and began giving her a bottle. I told Nathan and Brianna that she was in good hands and that they could go lie down. I would handle Kennedy. I mean, I’m an expert at this. I raised three kids and this is my third grandchild. Piece of cake, right?

I started down the stairs. Initially, everything was good. I can do stairs. Stairs are easy. And then it happened. I was maybe five steps from the floor when I slipped. As if in slow motion, my right leg was somehow contorted behind me while I was desperately holding on to a newborn baby. I continued my quick decent to the bottom of the staircase while repeating “It’s ok, everything is ok.” I wasn’t very convincing as Nathan was yelling and Brianna was frozen behind me. Her eyes were as big as dinner plates and I don’t know how she refrained from smacking me.

I completely understand if Nathan forces me to scoot down the stairs from now on. But did I mention that Kennedy is perfectly fine? I thought that I had broken my toe; only a sprain, I deserve that much. My body feels like it has survived a car accident. Oh, and most importantly, Kennedy never even dropped the bottle from her mouth. Yes, I am that good.