A Grandmother

I have been expecting to become a grandmother now for months, and yesterday I got the news that baby Melody Rose McNally has arrived safely. Mother and baby are well, father (my son) is completely tongue-tied with delight. It´s really strange to be so far away. I did give some thought to the value of walking for expectant mothers as I walked along the Camino de Santiago. I remembered the special statue of the Mother and Child in the cathedral at Valencia where pregnant women bring flowers and then walk around the ambulatory nine times to bring them a healthy delivery. But at the very end, Megan was told to rest -- no more lawn mowing!--mostly because the weather was so hot.


Anyway, I´m a grandmother. I´m excited, but I won´t get to see this baby until some time in July. The women I am more or less walking with congratulated me, of course, and started calling me "granny". Now what? Maybe it´s unusual or maybe it´s normal for this part of Spain, but it´s really hot during the day. Since we are not grapes, who grow everywhere here and enjoy the hot weather, we have to get up really, really, early to walk before it gets just too awful. Grandmother or not, the road is waiting, and I am walking.