After a morning of fretting, the big news arrived via text message just after 11:30 AM. My first grandchild, Samantha Leah, was delivered safely into our world. Mom and baby were doing well! This text was followed shortly thereafter by another text that included the first picture of Sammy. As Grandma Kadi celebrated and my office staff came rushing in to offer their congratulations, Grandpa John’s heart was so full of joy that it suppressed me into my chair. Never one to be at a loss for words, I was left speechless as tears filled my eyes and began to leak onto my cheeks. There simply are no words to describe how I felt at that moment. How do you wrap words around feelings that transcend love?

The next couple of days were a blur as more pictures of Samantha arrived and we packed to take off for Washington DC. On Saturday, I had to run several errands. I am not at all ashamed to say that, at every stop, I somehow finagled a way to show off my Grandbaby’s picture to the store clerks. Most were more than willing to indulge me. They were very nice to agree wholeheartedly with me that Sammy was A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E! The guy at the hardware store was the only exception. After I dropped a bunch of stuff on the checkout counter, I brazenly asked (demanded), “Would you like to see a picture of my new granddaughter?”

He gave me a look that clearly said, “I could care less.”

Sensing his disgusting indifference to my precious bundle of joy, I looked him dead straight in the eye and said, “Do you want my business or don’t you?”

I think he would have told me to stuff my $15.33 purchase, except that the boss waltzed by, so the clerk replied in a voice dripping with a false sincerity, “I would love to see your grandchild.”

I made him look at 10 pictures just to teach him a lesson.

Upon arrival at my daughter and son-in-law’s house on Monday, I held Sammy in my arms for the very first time. Grandma Kadi caught the moment on her cell phone camera. It is now my favorite picture of all time. I am cradling Samantha in my arms with my daughter smiling in the background. Once again, I was rendered speechless. Once again, my feelings were soaring someplace beyond love.

Now I told you all that, so I could tell you this: Just before leaving for DC, I had a conversation with a good friend of mine. I said to her, “Put God or any sense of a Divine Being aside for a minute and think about the miracle of birth. How is that a baby develops in the womb for 9 months and then, in a matter of minutes, emerges as a living, breathing human being? And…how is it that the instant that baby is born, we fall instantly in love with that precious child? It’s just incredible. It’s awesome.”

The woman looked at me and replied, “That is God to me.”

She is right. I can’t put God aside on this one.

I am speechless.