Grandma's Briefs

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Like mother, like grandmother: On Benjamin turning three

When my eldest daughter was born in 1982, I committed myself to diligently filling out her baby book regularly so as to not miss recording a single milestone or moment.

When my second daughter arrived in 1983, I continued to be fairly consistent in keeping track in her baby book, too.

Then came my third daughter in 1985, and I pretty much stunk at staying on top of even the most major milestones in her baby book, much less smaller stuff. So much so that I certainly had “some ‘splaining to do” when she, as a teen, questioned missing entries as well as several written so long after the fact that I literally noted guessing at the exact date.

Stories I’ve heard from other moms since my baby book writing days—as well as social media memes I’ve seen—confirm I wasn’t the only mother who failed to properly fill in baby books of beloved babes born beyond the No. 1 spot. Knowing I’m not the only one doesn’t make it right, but it does ease my mom guilt a bit for that particular transgression.

Thing is, I must now fess up to continuing that transgression tradition with my grandkids. I don’t keep baby books for my grandsons, of course, but this blog serves as a similar sort of spot for documenting milestones and major events in the lives of my grandchildren. As I did with my firstborn child, I wrote at length here about my firstborn grandson. In fact, Grandma’s Briefs was born because of my first grandson.

When the second, then third grandson arrived, I kept blogging about the boys, ad nauseum at times, to be blunt. A bit less about each individually, naturally, but the posts were published fairly regularly

Then came Benjamin! My first local grandson!

Of whom I’ve written egregiously little.

Then came his baby brother Robert, my most recent—and again, local!—grandson, and the posts on any grandchild have virtually pooped out.

For shame, Gramma!

In a (feeble) attempt to assuage some of the shamefulness of writing so very little about my grandsons lately—any of them—and as a commitment to myself to be better about such things, I’d like to share some photos of Benjamin’s third birthday. (Which was nearly a month ago! ugh.)

Benjamin’s favorite place in the entire world is Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. So that’s where all his local loved ones—Mommy, Daddy, big brother James and baby brother Robert, plus PawDad and Gramma, Aunt Andrea and Uncle Allen—went with him to celebrate the occasion, followed by one Hulk of a birthday cake (great job, Mommy!) and gifts at his house.

Benjamin had a terrific third birthday celebration.

One clearly worth documenting—tardy or not.