Waiting For The Mail
By Myra Williams
Ok, just checked my email...again. Maybe I should check my text messenger and Whats App, it could be there. The new photo of Lawson standing in his crib. Nine months old and possibly the most adorable little boy on the planet, yes, pretty sure of that.
His first name is my maiden name —my father had six sisters and five daughters, no son to carry on his name. What a joy it was to tell my dad that his eldest daughter’s only daughter, his eldest granddaughter and her husband were naming this precious child Lawson Michael Smith. When I told him, he wept with joy. Neither of us knew that in six weeks he would be gone.
Where is that picture? Oh, I hope it is a video; well, at this point I will take whatever comes, wherever it comes. This is really starting to be a bit neurotic, which started when he was born. I have started using a ploy that has seemed to work with my daughter, who is very busy. Well...there is some truth in the ploy.
The Lawson Fan Club who eagerly await pictures and videos. I have told her they hound me endlessly for new photos of Lawson, they need their Lawson fix. It is up to me to feed this hunger. I take this task very seriously. Wait, what was that... a ping, a pong, a ding or a chime. Darn it, which App did it come from? She said it would be coming.
Oh, how I miss pictures. Remember those old fashion things we held in our hands that captured a moment in time? How did I have the time to take the pictures, run the film to the drugstore, fill out the form, then wait and go back pick them up, sort them out for who gets what, put them in an envelope, mail them, call and let the grandparents and family know they were on their way... again I ask how did I have time?
Well, as I think about it, the instant gratification is pretty good. Ohhhhh, there it is... prepare for cuteness. There he is, that beautiful boy of ours, the one that God has sent to bless our family and this world with all of his gifts and possibilities. My heart wrenches in all the good places when I gaze at his face and scan his little feet and hands. The way he lifts his right eyebrow like his mother, my darling girl and my father.
A grandchild holds the heart strings that are far beyond the physical realm: they are our past, present and future. What a gift!
Myra Williams
—Grandmother of Lawson Michael Smith Born January 6, 2018
