You’ll notice, Dear Readers, there is no photograph at the top of today’s blog post.
Well, thereby hangs a tale…
I am back from a trip west to to meet my new grandson, Hendrix Benjamin Roffe.
He was born in Seattle on September 9 to my son Nick and his wife Missy.
As his arrival was a last minute C section, I thought I’d wait a month until everyone was well on the road to post natal recovery.
So on October 15 I flew to Seattle to meet the new arrival.
Hendrix was awesome.
He has a wonderful disposition. He didn’t scream or howl and he cried only when necessary.
(Which is a very good thing because when he cried, I cried too.)
Thanks, Hendrix.
Hendrix has my nose and Nick’s perfectly beautiful rosebud mouth and slightly cleft chin. He also inherited Nick’s long hands and feet- courtesy of Bill- no slouch in the looks department, honesty compels me to say.
And Hendrix is going to be tall. (Another Ross trait.)
But from the cheeks up, he is Missy. Chubby cheeks and good cheekbones, charmingly-shaped eyes and eye brows and glory hallelujah…
Thick, dark HAIR!
(Something I’ve never seen on any of my children before.)
Thank you, Missy.
Many of you have already sent your congratulations. Thanks for all your good wishes. They mean a lot to me- and to the new family.
But some of you have actually requested that I post photographs and this I can not do.
My son Nick will not allow Hendrix to appear on Facebook, the blog or on the Internet in any fashion.
He has forbidden it.
Nick is in tech, and when I asked him for a good reason for the ban he replied, “I’m his father and I control his image. And besides, I don’t have to give any reason.”
Ok.
(I am allowed to privately email pix to people I know but I still don’t think it’s quite fair.)
Nick’s paranoia is driving me nuts.
I can only hope, that one day, I can throw myself on the mercy of the court and Hanging Judge Roy Bean will relent.
In the meantime, I take great satisfaction in the certain knowledge that Hendrix will someday- and soon…
Drive Nick nuts.
Ah, the circle of life.
Congratulations to you and yours.
Thanks, Barry! Hope you and your Cali crew are doing fine. 😊
Be patient. With the first baby there’s always obsession. By the time baby #2 arrives he will be allowed to juggle knives. Congrats to your growing family. So happy for you.
Good advice- as usual, my friend. I can wait him out. Hope you had a happy Halloween. It rained here- just like it did when you were in Chicago for it two years ago. Cold, too. 😬🎃👻
Kevin, your comment is so true. I’ve always thought the oldest child had the toughest road to follow as the first born child, the child so many parents are determined will be perfect. “Be patient” is good advice to a grandmother of a first born grandchild.
Sometimes it takes many years before our kids who think they are raising their kids pefectly, correcting all of our mistakes, find out that their kids think that their parents ruined their lives. Whatever we did our kids will do the opposite and their kids will hate it… We can only try our best, do what we can at the time and realize that it won’t be perfect.
And good advice- as usual- from you too, Vivian. I only hope my kids’ kids turn out as well as yours. 💋😊
CONGRATS Ellen!
Thanks, Gar! Very very jealous because I bet you’re having great weather out there. Brrr. 😝😎
Dear Ellen:
In case I haven’t already told you.. Congratulations … grand-sons are the greatest.
And also, lucky Nick and Missy … and Yes, I almost forgot …LUCKY HENDRIX.
He is starting his life as a member of an awesome family.
Love, Joan
Bless you, Joan. I think you know something about great grandsons and great families yourself. 💋❤️
Ellen – Congratulations on the birth of your grandson, Hendrix. He sounds beautiful and already so perfect…. 🙂 It will be amusing to watch as Nick finds out he won’t always be in control of Hendrix’s image, and many other things related his son. I haven’t always agreed with how my kids have raised their kids but I respected them and refrained from telling them how to parent unless they actually asked for advice. All you can do is sit back and enjoy the ride. If you know of an especially good parenting book, you can always slip one in among the Christmas gifts for Hendrix’s parents. Have fun with this wonderful baby.
Thank you so much, Susan. I plan on taking your terrific advice about keeping my thoughts to myself. Except for one thing. I can not abide seeing toddlers walking around with those little bags of food! Cereal or something. Yuck. And I’m not real big on feeding kids sweets- as a reward or any other reason. But I think Nick is on the same page. Not a lot of junk food in their house. Hopefully, I can keep it zipped.🤐
I agree on restricting sweets for kids. So did my parents. I didn’t allow my kids to have food outside of the kitchen unless it was a family treat such as popcorn or homemade ice cream and was supervised. It was the same way when I was growing up. Food belongs in the kitchen, not the living room or one’s bedroom. I suspect your son and his wife are on the same page as you if there isn’t much junk food in their house. My two daughters became vegetarians so there isn’t much junk food in their house either. I suspect my son’s wife is likely particular about this, too. My son’s children are often in public since he’s in public office so their darling little girls are pretty well behaved. I did see my oldest daughter use some parenting skills I know she didn’t learn from me but I kept my mouth shut even though I knew it could easily create problems later on. She can be a bit sensitive about being corrected. She eventually figured out better ways to parent on her own. But it was tough going for a while with her kids as far as acting out behaviors. But they grew out of it eventually. By the way, give compliments on parenting and children’s behavior when you can. I think that’s helped with my daughter-in-law. If you have to keep your mouth shut about some types of parenting, you can always complain to friends instead. 🙂 In the end, it will all turn out okay with your darling grandchildren.