This summer, I’ll become a grandmother. I still can’t believe I just typed that.
Our oldest son and daughter in law are expecting their first baby in June. Their baby. Our grandchild. Even writing those words takes a second to settle. Not because it feels overwhelming, but because it marks a shift. One that feels both exciting and hard to fully wrap your head around.
There are moments in life that move you into a new chapter without much warning. This feels like one of those moments. Not loud. Not dramatic. Just significant.
Seeing Your Child in a New Light
There is something deeply strange and wonderful about watching your child step into parenthood. When I look at my son, I still see the little boy he once was. The one who needed rides, guidance, and reassurance. The one who tested limits, asked questions, and grew right in front of me.
And now he is preparing to be someone’s dad.
That realization brings pride, perspective, and a reminder of how quickly time passes. One day you are in the thick of raising kids. The next, you are watching them prepare to raise their own. It is a full circle moment you cannot fully understand until you are living it.
Lessons That Only Time Teaches
When I think back to my years raising six kids, what stands out most is how much of it revolved around time. Trying to spend enough of it. Wondering if I was using it well. Feeling like there was never quite enough to go around.
Like most parents, I wanted to do it right. I wanted to show up, I wanted my kids to feel supported, seen, and loved. I did not always get it right, but I cared deeply about being present and intentional in the season I was in.
Over time, I learned that parenting is far less about what we say and far more about what we model.
The way we speak to our children, the way we speak to ourselves in front of them, the way we interact with our spouse. The way we handle stress, conflict, disappointment, and joy. All of it matters. All of it is absorbed, often quietly.
We want our children to grow into adults who are confident, grounded, self advocating, and proud of who they are. But those qualities are not taught through lectures or reminders. They are learned through observation. Through watching the people who love them most live their lives.
When Several Chapters Overlap
This season of life feels full in ways I did not anticipate.
We are on the edge of becoming empty nesters. The house is quieter. The pace is different. There is more space to notice the shift that is happening.
At the same time, my second book is about to come out. A project that represents years of growth, reflection, and lived experience. Professionally and personally, there is movement happening in multiple directions.
It feels like one of those rare seasons where endings and beginnings overlap. Where gratitude for what has been mixes with anticipation for what is coming.
And still, becoming a grandmother is the best part.
This Is Their Turn
Raising six kids has given me perspective on what matters most in this role.
I want to be respectful of my children and the way they choose to raise their child. I want to honor their boundaries, their rules, and their rhythms. This is their turn to parent, and I trust them.
I do not feel the need to step in, take over, or relive my parenting years through theirs. My role now is different, and I welcome that difference.
There is a calm that comes with this stage of life. He will be loved. He will be guided by parents who care deeply. That part is already there.
What Presence Looks Like Now
My role now is simply to be present. To support without directing, to be available without being intrusive. To show up with steadiness and respect.
There is freedom in this stage of life. Freedom from the pressure to get everything right. Freedom from the idea that love has to look a certain way.
I understand now that perfection was never the goal. Connection was. Trust was. Consistency was.
This season invites a slower pace. A deeper awareness. A willingness to let go of what no longer needs to be carried.
Standing in the Middle of It All
There is something grounding about reaching this point in life. Watching your children build lives of their own. Seeing the years of effort, love, and modeling take shape in ways you cannot control but can deeply appreciate.
Watching your children step into parenthood has a way of holding up a mirror. You see what stayed with them. You notice the values they carry forward without being reminded, you recognize moments where your influence shows up quietly, not in the big speeches, but in the small choices they make.
It is humbling in the best way. You realize that leadership in a family does not come from control or certainty. It comes from consistency. From how you loved. From how you handled mistakes, from the environment you created, even when you did not realize it was shaping anything at all.
You realize how much of life is about witnessing. About standing slightly to the side with gratitude rather than being at the center of everything. About trusting that what mattered most was passed on, even if it looks different than you imagined.
This summer, I will hold my grandchild in my arms. I know this chapter will be different from all the ones before it. Quieter in some ways. Fuller in others.
And I am ready for it.
