I never thought it would happen, that my daughter would have a baby. She didn't seem to be into it, but then that day came..and it's a girl!
I was thrilled when, after two sons, my son and daughter-in-law had a little girl. I so, so love my grandsons, but I think it's only natural that we women would want some granddaughters too. So when I found out that my son and daughter-in-law were having a little girl, I was thrilled, so I wrote a letter to her on this blog to welcome her into the world.
So here I am again, sharing and updating that letter, but this time, just for you, little Ingrid . I love my first little granddaughter very much, but you are my own daughter's daughter. It's a very special feeling, and I have enjoyed this journey with my daughter, your Mother.
And now you are here, so here goes...
Dear Ingrid, My Newly Born Granddaughter,
Welcome to the world!
like...
Tea parties.
It's no secret that I have been known to buy the odd outfit or two. OK, or 100. Clothes come and go, but I have saved some that I thought a little girl just like you would love to dress up in. I loved to play dress-up when I was a young girl. So did your mother.
This is something I have honed to a fine art.
I can teach you the "bob and veer." That's where you are shopping in a store and suddenly take a sharp turn and disappear because you spotted a Marc Jacobs dress on sale. It's like "bob and weave," but with "bob and veer," you bob and then, rather than weaving, you veer directly in a straight line to the object of your desire. Hubby, your Papi, HATES that.
Or the "I can't afford NOT to buy this!" technique. That means that the item is on sale and has been marked down so low you will lose money if you don't purchase it. OK, that's sort of a joke. My Dad, your great-grandfather, taught me that, but the idea is that it would be a crime not to buy it. So you do.
There is also the "I can't live without it" technique. My Dad would always ask me that. "Is that something you can't live without?" What do you think my answer was?
And finally, there is the "It might be gone forever" ploy. This means that you might find something you can't really afford, but if you don't get it, then when you DO have the money the item will be gone and you will never find it again and regret it for your whole life. So you have to buy it to avoid that kind of pain in your life.
I learned most of these shopping techniques from my Dad. My mother, your great-grandmother, did not approve. In fact, it is easy to misunderstand these things, so let's just keep them between you and me, OK?
C'mon, of course we are going to read and read and read.
Growing up, my mother and I loved to watch the old musicals - "Singin' in the Rain," "The Music Man," "Oklahoma." Then I watched them with your Mom when she was a little girl, and now I look forward to showing them to you. Your mother even starred in some musicals. Here she is in "Annie" as Molly, the littlest orphan.
But you know what? If it turns out you don't like those things, that's OK too. I will just be happy to spend time with you doing whatever you love to do and getting to know you as you go through life.
And speaking of your life, I wish for you a life filled with giving and receiving happiness, thoughtfulness, kindness, empathy, compassion and equality.
You probably won't be able to believe it, and I hope by the time you are old enough to notice, there won't be any vestiges of inequality still around, but there was a time, and not that long ago, when women didn't have rights - they couldn't own property, they couldn't vote, they had to ask their husbands or fathers for permission to do almost everything, they were treated as second class citizens, and even today many women do not get paid the same amount of money for doing the same work as men. Can you believe it?
Your mother and I are feminists and we hope you will be proud to call yourself one, too, and that you will care about women's rights. Because there is still work to be done. I have been concerned that many young women today don't seem to wear the word "Feminist" with pride. It's almost as if they take for granted what women in earlier generations had to do to get where we are today. I wrote about that in my blog post - "Why is Feminist Such a Dirty Word?"
And can you believe that the United States has never had a woman President?... though now I am proud to say we have a female Vice President.
I hope that you will be proud to be a woman and not take any crap. There, I said it.
I wish for you a world you feel safe in.
I want you to be able to go out in the world free of fear. Women should be free to travel, go out at night alone, dress how they wish, all alone, without fear. But the reality is that there is some bad stuff out there. So be brave but be smart and don't take any crap. There, I said it again.
You come from a family that has always valued education. Growing up, it never occurred to me that I wouldn't go to college. Your Dad and Mother had to get a lot of education to become who they are. Your mother went to Stanford and has a master's degree and your Dad has a Ph.D! As soon as you and I can have a conversation, we can start talking about colleges. You can never start too early.
I wish you love.
But if not, you have this little thing I wrote so that you will know I couldn't wait to meet you and that I love you already.
So my darling girl, it's a big wide world out there just waiting for you.
Live fearlessly!
Go for it!
Love,
Glammy