Pink to Red and all Shades Inbetween

I got married at 19 (which might explain why by the age of "39" I now have 8 grandbabies, one of whom will be 10 in a couple of months).  My first son was born when I was 20, the second at 21, and the third when I was a matronly 24.  We moved during my first pregnancy, and actually during the second one, too.  As a result, my belly was never the object of a baby shower - and who gives a shower for a third child, especially when he makes three of a kind?  It was never a deep longing of my heart, just one of those little known oddities that contributes to my...  You know what I mean.

Last week, my bestie, Merry, had a Granma shower for me - a PINK shower, to be exact!  She reasoned that after 3 sons and 5 grandboys, there was not a stitch of pink, nor a doll or princess item in the house.  She knows me well!  I wore my one pink item, which, true to form, borders on fuchsia.  Pastel is a very new addition to my vocabulary, and still a foreign one.  The card from a fellow quilter, was soft and sweet and advised me to keep and use it as a pastel guide in the future.  Thanks, Nancy, it will certainly come in handy!

I received preemie sized clothes, bibs, blankets, toys, books, flowers, candles, bath items, and more - all in various shades of pink!  There was nary a spot of blue to be found.  Even the margaritas we shared were pink!

Some things became evident regarding showers from the other side of the wrapping paper.  First, it's kind of like Christmas, sans the red and green (especially the green) - except that no one else was opening gifts.  I might surmise that all of my friends were on Santa's naughty list.  However, it is not even remotely possible that we would be on opposite sides of that divide, so skip the Christmas reference.  (Lower right corner of the picture is a pink flask, especially designed for a long day of Granma-ing.  Though it will never hold any liquid stronger than milk, it is proof positive that we definitely stick together on the naughty/nice split.)

Secondly, even besides the obvious color difference, grandgirlies' necessities are very different from grandboy fodder.  I'm kind of curious to see how the latter plays with a cuddly pink piggy, or what adventures they can think up for Barbie.  I am equally curious to see how the girls will play with them.  Bella will have to demonstrate.

Finally, the best gift of all:  my friends!!!  With greater frequency than I care to admit, I wonder if I'm good enough, worthy enough, likable enough.  Granma that I am, I'm little more than an insecure teenager - though we have established that I left that decade "at least" 20 years ago...  Maybe that's why I love being a Granma so much:  the midgets don't even question if I'm "all that"!  I'm big enough, strong enough, smart enough, sucker enough, childish enough to be their hero, their playmate, their champion.  Oh how I would love for them never to see the real me: insecure, fumbling, doubting - and even on occasion exhausted and frustrated by their antics.

But my friends see with adult eyes:  my shortcomings, flaws and over-extension, but also my hope, my love and my desires.

Pink entered through the door - overwhelmingly so!  But when friends gather to celebrate PINK, it's really all about RED - the same color as LOVE!  I love all of you, too!!  You are the best!