First there was Sarah.  Then along came Ann.  Zach married Autumn.  And even the puppy dogs along the way, Lillie Belle and Sadie Lynn, held some sway in Papa’s court.  All of these girls have at one time or another ended up in a blog post or blog photo since I started this  blogsite two and a half or so years ago.  They’ve been my favorite girls of all time, and they remain so.

Papa\'s Newst GirlBut the circle is growing.  Now I welcome Payton ELizabeth, the firstborn of Zach and Autumn, and the girl whose greatest renomee at this point is that she finally proved  that I’m old enough to be a grandparent, as much as I’ve resisted that truth for the past several years.  The photo here shows the three-day old just returning from her first Sunday afternoon trip to Sonic with her Mom and Dad, where I don’t believe she had a Coney dog and fries just yet.

So how is being a grandparent?

Well, all of my peers who have gone on before me in this phase of life were right: There’s no way to describe the sensation when the time finally comes.  I was excited before, because I knew the feeling would be rich, but even the anticipation  was no preparation for the reality of seeing, touching, hearing the real baby girl.

Even though Payton is just a few days old as of this post, the first time I cast my eyes on her in the hospital Thursday night and heard those plaintive whimpers and cries as the helpless little creature protested the rudeness of being cast so cruelly into this bizarre environment outside her Mommy’s warm and snug nesting place, she wielded the power of an enchantress.

Yep, Payton makes being old enough to be a grandparent worth the trouble of growing old (er).  I think this newest little girl is going to be a lot of fun.  I’m sure she’ll end up as the subject of her share of posts in the months and years to come.