Nobody was telling me how I should feel.
Nobody was turning the celebration into something it wasn’t supposed to be.
I rested one hand on my belly.
Our son kicked.
I smiled through my tears.
“Yes,” I whispered. “I’d really like that.”
Levi placed his hand over mine.
And together, we began opening the gifts meant for our baby.
Behind the dessert table, the enormous GRANDMA’S LITTLE BLESSING banner lay folded where Levi had placed it.
I glanced at it once.
Then I turned back toward my husband and the tiny clothes in my lap.
I still wished my mother could have been there.
I still hoped Diane would eventually become the loving grandmother I’d wanted for our son.
But I finally understood that those two wishes didn’t require me to disappear from my own child’s life.
My baby deserved a grandmother who loved him.
