I can still feel my babies' breath on my neck and see their chests rise and lower as they slept. Time moves forward. It can steal precious moments like these. And I can tell young parents to not rush even the most difficult of times with your child. Every single moment holds love and life.

I'm 57 now and am blessed to be raising my grandson for the last six years. I'm a mom of two grown sons and a grandmother (Mimi) to four grandchildren. Busy? Yes. Tired? Sometimes. My life, as it has evolved, would not be so full were it not for many blessings from God as I pray daily that my eyes be open to see Him in my day and my arms be open to give and receive love and comfort.

Winter in New England gives me many precious times. I'm happy watching the kids, and Pa, play in the snow. I'm happy watching the kids struggle to independently put layers of warm clothes and snow boots on and off (thankful, too). Everything they do invites me to share with them in play, song, cooking, and just being silly.

This summer (2017) we visited Davis Farmland with my grandson, his Dad, and Pa. What an incredible day! For me, the most notable observation was not seeing any electronic devices, no hand-held games, nothing "plugged in" so to speak. The children even had to self peddle their go-karts! Smiles, animals, families galore!

But, the part of my day I would not trade for the world was getting into the pool of bubbles with my grandson. I'm 57 years old and up to my neck in bubbles! How fun is this?

This summer also gave pause to him calling me Mommy, something he's done since he was a toddler. My first submission refers to the first time he said Mommy to me. I embraced this as a wonderful gift, a sign of how he felt: loved, safe and seeing me as his Mommy. These past weeks, however, I hear Mimi and not Mommy so much anymore. Bittersweet is how I feel. Then again, he's growing up, going in second grade in two weeks. He amazes me with his confidence in our love, his strength, humor and faith, too. It seems we're both growing up together.