A most happy event

I’m delighted to announce (if you haven’t already heard) that we have another grandchild, the sixth in the skein.

Colin Thomas Morain, son of Erin and David Morain, arrived at 12:10 p.m. on Sunday, May 3. He weighed in at a hefty 9 pounds 9 ounces, and showed up only 3½ hours after his parents arrived at the hospital.

We assumed temporary responsibility for Colin’s older brother and sister, 7-year-old Will and 3-year-old Norah, when we got the call from Erin and Dave Sunday morning.

A few hours later, when we heard from Dave at the hospital that things were progressing, we strapped the kids into the car seats in the back seat of Kathy’s car (the car seats are there permanently) and took off to meet their sibling.

Erin and Dave wanted the baby’s brother and sister to be the first ones in the family (other than themselves) to meet the new kid on the block. So when we got to the hospital, we waited for what seemed to be hours before Dave came out to escort Will and Norah to Mom and Baby’s hospital room.

The rest of us, including Erin’s parents, grandmother, sisters, brother-in-law and nephew, all from Omaha, cooled our heels until our turn came.

No one, including Erin and Dave, knew beforehand what flavor the newcomer was going to be. That was problematic — Will was pulling for a baby brother, Norah for a baby sister.

So Norah, while she was excited about having a baby join the family (she’s really into babies), was nevertheless somewhat disappointed.

She had convinced herself that a girl was to be forthcoming. No assurance that it was neat to be the only sister would satisfy.

After she had been in her mom’s hospital room for half an hour or so, along with the rest of us, she crawled up on the bed and looked under her mom’s blanket to see if her baby sister just might be there somewhere.

Disappointment continued.

After dinner with Erin’s family from Omaha, we brought Norah and Will back to our house to spend the night. Monday morning we all got up and got ready for school for Will and the Early Learning Center for Norah.

Norah had been thinking, and figured it out. We could just put Colin back in and wait for the baby sister to show up.

Kathy pointed out that that would probably not be a satisfactory activity for anyone, especially for Erin, and we continued to try to convince Norah that a baby brother would be a very nice addition to the family.

The jury’s still out as far as she’s concerned, but she’s considering the possibility. We’re betting she’ll very soon grow attached to Colin, and everything will be fine.

At any rate, Kathy and I think Colin’s addition to the clan is wonderful, and we’re looking forward eagerly to watching him grow. We’re planning to do our part in that regard, in whatever ways his parents can employ us.

Grandparenting is a most satisfying career.

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Jefferson Bee & Herald
Address: 200 N. Wilson St.
Jefferson, IA 50129

Phone:(515) 386-4161