Time passes so quickly and little ones grow up so fast.
Both truisms especially describe the past two years.
On August 31, 2009, Bob and I did the final walkthrough for our brand new house here in Florence, AZ. It was a huge step toward our dream retirement. Although we had eight more months to work in Los Angeles before we could retire, our home of 29 years to sell, and a major move to make, closing on our new home here was a major event for us.
But something of even more importance to our family happened that very same day: my brother Mike and his wife Amp welcomed their daughter Grace Elizabeth McCoy -- nicknamed Maggie -- into the world.
Maggie at one minute old with mother Amp
Maggie with father Mike on August 31, 2009
She was the child my brother -- who didn't marry until he was 58 -- never imagined he would have. She was the precious daughter Amp -- and her thrilled parents in Thailand -- had longed for since Mike and Amp were married in 2007. And she was the niece we welcomed into a nearly childless family. My sister's Nick had been the only child in the family for 19 years and was quickly growing into young adulthood. Maggie was our second chance to experience the wonder of watching a child grow up.
Maggie at six months
And grow she has! How quickly a baby becomes an independent spirit -- the sweet infant becomes the toddler in what seems the blink of an eye. And there are hints of a childhood and young adulthood to come. She isn't a girly girl. She doesn't like dresses or Princess stories or dolls. Her favorite possession is an old iPad which she navigates with confidence and amazing skill. She likes to build things with Legos. She has an ability to focus sharply and at length on a task. She has no patience for baby talk or, in fact, much talk at all.
My brother worries that she hasn't spoken yet and looks relieved when reminded that I didn't speak until I was two-and-a-half. Then, after a lifetime of silence, I burst out with my first words in the check-out line at a supermarket, pointing at the man standing behind us and announcing loudly: "That man is picking his nose!" My sister Tai started speaking at about the same age, in full sentences. Her first words, yelled at Mike, were: "You get out!" Since both Tai and I went on to become champion talkers, my brother is reassured.
So even as her second birthday rolls around, Maggie is keeping quiet for the moment. But her spirited, bright presence has made such a difference. Mike, always a bit ambivalent about fatherhood after suffering so much abuse at the hands of his own father, has found a vast reservoir of tenderness and love in his relationship with his edgy and passionate little daughter. He has more patience than he ever imagined. He finds incredible joy in every day living with this little one. He and Amp, always close and loving from the moment they met, feel even more connected, more a family, than ever.
And I am still struck with wonder at Maggie's existence and with uncertainty about how our lives will intersect and how we will build a loving connection. I would love to be an aunt like my beloved Aunt Molly. But Aunt Molly was 27 when I was born. She was my father's never-married sister who spent all of her vacations with us and, after she moved back to L.A. from Ohio when I was in my early teens, every weekend with us as well. Growing up with an alcoholic, violent, mentally ill father and a terrified, depressed mother, there were times when Mike, Tai and I clung to Aunt Molly as the only reasonable adult at close range in our lives.
Maggie's young life has been very different: she has devoted parents who dearly love her and each other. She has a mostly elderly extended family here in the U.S. I am 66, Bob 67 and Tai is 56. She doesn't yet know quite what to make of us -- these occasional visitors in her life -- her aunt and uncle who live in Arizona, her aunt who lives in Seattle.
Maggie with her Dad and occasional visitors - Bob and me
At the moment and perhaps for always, her favorite McCoy relative is her cousin Nick who is 21. It makes sense: she and Nick have so many years to share, so many life experiences to come, long after the rest of us have become mere memories.
Maggie with parents Mike and Amp, me and Bob
She has a large and loving and significantly younger Thai family, including paternal grandparents who are not quite 50 and Amp's beautiful young sister, a recent college graduate, just turned 23. Maggie is at home in two very different places -- Los Angeles and Bangkok. She is growing up bicultural and bilingual. She already has a good understanding of both English and Thai. However, she seems happiest and most relaxed at their home in Thailand where they spend several months a year.
Maggie with her maternal grandparents in Thailand
Maggie (l) with Thai family members and friends
I wonder how we will all fit into her life as she grows up, how we can let her know, each in our own ways, how much she is loved and valued.
I wonder what her life will be like and how much of her growing up we will live to see.
She's tall for her age -- and slim as toddlers go. I can see her father -- who is 6'4" -- in her height, in her fierce intelligence and attraction to computers. Mike is an M.D. and also an IT professional who is a faculty member at Harvard Medical School and USC Medical School. From infancy, Maggie has been fascinated by her father's laptop and iPad, eagerly watching at first, then getting more hands on. Now she has inherited his old iPad and it's her favorite toy.
Maggie and her ever-present iPad
But I also see her lovely mother Amp when I look at Maggie. I see Amp in Maggie's face, in the sense of peace she finds in her projects, in continuing Thai traditions. Maggie responds most readily to directions and endearments in Thai. Her favorite foods are Thai. I imagine that, while she has dual citizenship, the country of her heart will be Thailand.
Maggie on 4th of July, 2011
She will grow up with a global perspective, with technological expertise from toddlerhood, financially secure and surrounded by love. What path will she follow? What will she be like at 5? Or 15? Or 25 or 30? Will she follow her father into medicine? Or surpass his talents in technology? Or find her own career path -- perhaps a calling linked with a world and technology we can't even imagine?
Maggie focusing on iPad as Amp naps
More important, will she feel the love all around her? Will she find a special person with whom to share a lifetime of love? Will she enjoy not only the caring and nurturing of her family across two continents, but also the treasure of good and true friends? Will she be happy? Will she find peace and contentment in a rapidly changing world? Will she find joy in little moments, in simply living every day of her life?
Maggie starting birthday at Starbucks - Aug. 31, 2011
There are so many things that are unknowable on this, her second birthday. But I wish so very much for her today and forever.
Both truisms especially describe the past two years.
On August 31, 2009, Bob and I did the final walkthrough for our brand new house here in Florence, AZ. It was a huge step toward our dream retirement. Although we had eight more months to work in Los Angeles before we could retire, our home of 29 years to sell, and a major move to make, closing on our new home here was a major event for us.
But something of even more importance to our family happened that very same day: my brother Mike and his wife Amp welcomed their daughter Grace Elizabeth McCoy -- nicknamed Maggie -- into the world.
She was the child my brother -- who didn't marry until he was 58 -- never imagined he would have. She was the precious daughter Amp -- and her thrilled parents in Thailand -- had longed for since Mike and Amp were married in 2007. And she was the niece we welcomed into a nearly childless family. My sister's Nick had been the only child in the family for 19 years and was quickly growing into young adulthood. Maggie was our second chance to experience the wonder of watching a child grow up.
And grow she has! How quickly a baby becomes an independent spirit -- the sweet infant becomes the toddler in what seems the blink of an eye. And there are hints of a childhood and young adulthood to come. She isn't a girly girl. She doesn't like dresses or Princess stories or dolls. Her favorite possession is an old iPad which she navigates with confidence and amazing skill. She likes to build things with Legos. She has an ability to focus sharply and at length on a task. She has no patience for baby talk or, in fact, much talk at all.
My brother worries that she hasn't spoken yet and looks relieved when reminded that I didn't speak until I was two-and-a-half. Then, after a lifetime of silence, I burst out with my first words in the check-out line at a supermarket, pointing at the man standing behind us and announcing loudly: "That man is picking his nose!" My sister Tai started speaking at about the same age, in full sentences. Her first words, yelled at Mike, were: "You get out!" Since both Tai and I went on to become champion talkers, my brother is reassured.
So even as her second birthday rolls around, Maggie is keeping quiet for the moment. But her spirited, bright presence has made such a difference. Mike, always a bit ambivalent about fatherhood after suffering so much abuse at the hands of his own father, has found a vast reservoir of tenderness and love in his relationship with his edgy and passionate little daughter. He has more patience than he ever imagined. He finds incredible joy in every day living with this little one. He and Amp, always close and loving from the moment they met, feel even more connected, more a family, than ever.
And I am still struck with wonder at Maggie's existence and with uncertainty about how our lives will intersect and how we will build a loving connection. I would love to be an aunt like my beloved Aunt Molly. But Aunt Molly was 27 when I was born. She was my father's never-married sister who spent all of her vacations with us and, after she moved back to L.A. from Ohio when I was in my early teens, every weekend with us as well. Growing up with an alcoholic, violent, mentally ill father and a terrified, depressed mother, there were times when Mike, Tai and I clung to Aunt Molly as the only reasonable adult at close range in our lives.
Maggie's young life has been very different: she has devoted parents who dearly love her and each other. She has a mostly elderly extended family here in the U.S. I am 66, Bob 67 and Tai is 56. She doesn't yet know quite what to make of us -- these occasional visitors in her life -- her aunt and uncle who live in Arizona, her aunt who lives in Seattle.
At the moment and perhaps for always, her favorite McCoy relative is her cousin Nick who is 21. It makes sense: she and Nick have so many years to share, so many life experiences to come, long after the rest of us have become mere memories.
She has a large and loving and significantly younger Thai family, including paternal grandparents who are not quite 50 and Amp's beautiful young sister, a recent college graduate, just turned 23. Maggie is at home in two very different places -- Los Angeles and Bangkok. She is growing up bicultural and bilingual. She already has a good understanding of both English and Thai. However, she seems happiest and most relaxed at their home in Thailand where they spend several months a year.
I wonder how we will all fit into her life as she grows up, how we can let her know, each in our own ways, how much she is loved and valued.
I wonder what her life will be like and how much of her growing up we will live to see.
She's tall for her age -- and slim as toddlers go. I can see her father -- who is 6'4" -- in her height, in her fierce intelligence and attraction to computers. Mike is an M.D. and also an IT professional who is a faculty member at Harvard Medical School and USC Medical School. From infancy, Maggie has been fascinated by her father's laptop and iPad, eagerly watching at first, then getting more hands on. Now she has inherited his old iPad and it's her favorite toy.
But I also see her lovely mother Amp when I look at Maggie. I see Amp in Maggie's face, in the sense of peace she finds in her projects, in continuing Thai traditions. Maggie responds most readily to directions and endearments in Thai. Her favorite foods are Thai. I imagine that, while she has dual citizenship, the country of her heart will be Thailand.
She will grow up with a global perspective, with technological expertise from toddlerhood, financially secure and surrounded by love. What path will she follow? What will she be like at 5? Or 15? Or 25 or 30? Will she follow her father into medicine? Or surpass his talents in technology? Or find her own career path -- perhaps a calling linked with a world and technology we can't even imagine?
More important, will she feel the love all around her? Will she find a special person with whom to share a lifetime of love? Will she enjoy not only the caring and nurturing of her family across two continents, but also the treasure of good and true friends? Will she be happy? Will she find peace and contentment in a rapidly changing world? Will she find joy in little moments, in simply living every day of her life?
There are so many things that are unknowable on this, her second birthday. But I wish so very much for her today and forever.
Happy Birthday Maggie, what a blessed and beautiful child you are.
ReplyDeleteInteresting that she responds bilingually but that her preference is Thia. By the way, I loved your first words. My dad used to joke that he didn't speak till he was 2.5 and that his first word was "indubitably".
She really is blessed with a lot of resourses, especially love. There should be no limits for her.
Wonderful post. Your pride and love show clearly.
Arkansas Patti
What a beautiful, touching post. She is a precious little girl and is amazingly blessed to have the family she has.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful child. :-)
ReplyDeleteI have a friend who didn't speak until he was five and then simply spoke in full sentences...
Pearl
This was a very interesting post. I am intrigued by the same questions that you have about your niece and her future. One thing is for sure. She is loved by many. Also, she is beautiful and bright. I think her future will be the same way, full of love, beauty and very bright.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely post. Children are such a blessing. I often marvel at the miracle of my own. T
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing!
Thanks so much for your lovely comments, Patti, Shelly, Pearl, Betty, Sally and Crystal! Maggie really is a blessing. My brother is very thankful to those of you who offered comments about relatives who talked late also. Patti, I especially love your Dad's first word! Thanks so much!
ReplyDeleteYour niece is beautiful!
ReplyDeleteCount me among the late talkers too. Like you, I started with sentences and would not be described as reticent :)
Have you thought of a webcam as a way of interacting with your niece on a regular basis since you live so far from her?
Hi, Jenny! Thanks so much for your gracious and helpful comment. Actually, we do webcams all the time between here and either L.A. or Bangkok and it's a great way to see Maggie growing and becoming very much her own person. However, she doesn't have much interest yet in interacting during these visits. We have to keep reminding ourselves that she may be tech-savvy, but she's still just two years old. We're looking forward to more interaction -- via webcam or in person -- when she's just a bit older.
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday to Maggie. What a wonderful story. Beautiful family. Congratulations.
ReplyDeleteI posted a comment earlier but I think Blogger ate it! She is a beautiful baby and very lucky to have both families, here and in Thailand. May God Bless her...
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Morrison and Terry! I think she'll have quite a fascinating life, feeling at home in two very different cultures, but loved dearly by both families.
ReplyDelete