What doesn't kill me only makes me whinier.

Meet Jason Trent MacDonald, the newly arrived firstborn of Steve & Michelle.

I did some Photoshop editing for those readers who aren't prepared for the awesomeness that is being a MacDonald male.
He weighed in at 7 lbs. 7 oz. and 19" long, kind of small for a MacDonald baby (his dad was 10lb., 5 oz. and 24" long), but he also came two weeks before his due date. He is, however, as uncoordinated as his paternal lineage. He signaled his intention to emerge before he had his head pointing in the right direction, so he was delivered by C-section. Not to worry, modern medicine is used to clumsy babies, and after some rough going Michelle was a happy mommy. Everybody is now doing fine.

Everybody except Grammy, who is still battling a bad case of bronchitis and can't go see her new grandbaby. Pam stayed home from work today and will probably have to do the same tomorrow. Her dr. said she can't take decongestants anymore because they were elevating her blood pressure. So imagine a really bad head cold and a really bad cough unabated by modern drugs and that is the loveliness that is my wife right now. She's hoping the antibiotics kick in real soon so she can meet Jason in person.

I, on the other hand, got to make a pastoral visit to the hospital to see the new family and hold the new arrival.
I think being a granddad is in some ways better than being a dad. I get the blessing of seeing my kids and my grandkid. When you're a new parent the whole thing is so overwhelming and ... scary. You're in the middle of it. I get to stand back and see the whole scene - new baby and new parents - while still a very small part of it.
When Megan and Caedon were born we still lived in Michigan. Each was a couple weeks old and settled at home by the time we got out for a visit. It's different seeing the new parents and child hours after the birth, when the joy mixed with awe mixed with fatigue mixed with fear is fresh.

Any other content I might put in this blog post would be so anticlimactic that I'm going to leave it right there. Besides, it's hard to type with all this liquid in my eyes.