Excuse Me....

I remember sitting at the supper table, about a million years ago, and listening to my parents talk about how quickly time goes by. I thought they were nuts. Summer lasted forever, and so did the day before Christmas.

Mostly, time stood still....

And now, finally, I see what they were talking about. What happened to Y2K? Remember? Everything that was dependent on a computer was going to come crashing to a halt. And we had bottled water and flashlights. I never understood that...

And nothing happened. But four days later, four days into a new millennium, my granddaughter was born. It was a trying time. The nurse couldn't start my daughter's IV, so I did it. The labor wasn't progressing but the baby's heart rate was decelerating with each contraction.

And so, there was a caesarian section....

And out came the most beautiful baby, with ruby red lips. She wasn't too happy about being disturbed, either. She was quite warm and cozy where she was, thank you very much! But she was fine. A wonderful way to start a new millennium, I'm thinking.

Well, in six days, she will be ten. Ten going on thirty. And, of course, I am wondering: where the heck did the time go?

She and I went out to dinner last night, just the two of us. She got the child's menu, which included a quiz about water usage. She read the questions out loud and had me answer them. It would seem that I am a “water wannabe”.......which is better than being a “water waster” but not as good as being a “water wizard.”

As she read them, and tallied my score, I was impressed with just how grown up she is getting to be. Well, until she let out a belch that would have made her boy cousins proud. I asked her “what do you say?” and she had several glib answers. I just kept asking until she finally said “excuse me....”

So, not all that grown up yet, I guess.

As I looked at the dancing brown eyes across the table from me, and watched the animated face of my little angel, I had to wonder what else might have happened in the last ten years. And could it compare with this sweet Child O'Mine?

Well, yes. There's Goggle Boy, too. And a high school graduation, and another teenager, too. And two more who speak Italian fluently, and a little bit of English, too.

I will leave the review of the news events and political ramifications of the last ten years to those who know much more about them than I do. I will continue to be amazed at the wonderful things that have happened in my life, and the lives that have joined with mine. In the end, it is those other lives that matter the most to me, and have impacted mine the most.

And now, as we enter the second decade of the new millennium, just two days from now, I simply can't believe how fast time has flown. So much of my life is behind me, but still, there are wonderful days and years ahead of me, too. I know that 2010 is going to be a life-changing, life-affirming year for me, and for those I love and hold dear.

2010 is going to be MY year!