Okay, now I’m a bit nervous. Emma reports that she is headed to the hospital tomorrow morning early where they will induce the birth of her daughter, my granddaughter. Should be around dawn. This is New York City, nobody waits around much.

Everything is fine, the doctors just think it’s time. The baby weighs between 7 and 8 lbs.  and is in great shape.

When Emma told me this, my heart started to beat and I could feel some adrenaline pumping into the system. It’s no longer a conceptual idea, my granddaughter is coming on Friday, probably in the morning.

I told Emma that Maria and I would come down for a quick visit – one day, no staying over – two or three days after she and the baby come home. Then a week or so later ,when things settle, we’ll return and stay in a nearby hotel for a day or so.

I think parental visits are like fish – they aren’t good for more than a day or so. Emma will have a lot of things to do.

Thanks for the many wonderful messages about parenting and grandparenting, they were compelling and fascinating to read. I see that everyone has a different experience with it, everyone has their own way of being a grandparent.

In my head, I still think much more about being a parent, my first instinct is to rush down there and be ready to help out, but that is an instinct best left unfulfilled. This is not my baby, this is not my life.

I can tell that I am excited about this, an important chapter in my life. I am eager to get down there and meet this new member of the family. Emma is getting anxious for the first time, this waiting is perhaps the hardest part for her, there is an edge in her voice that I haven’t heard before. Perhaps in mine too.

I will be in touch with her husband Jay in the morning. It’s possible the hospital will be flooded with emergencies and the delivery will be postponed until Monday, but it feels imminent to me. More later. I think I need to take some deep breaths and meditate. Maybe head for the woods.