# 421 - Mom-to-Be Sharing her Culture

My oldest daughter, Heather, came into town for Easter weekend and she was exhausted. Poor gal, she's about 17 weeks pregnant and living with many of the issues that carrying a baby can bring.

Of course, Heather is my child that can sleep through a bomb blast. She konked-out on the sofa downstairs, in the middle of preparations for a crawfish boil.

But, I love how her faithful companion, Tux, an Australian Shepherd, stayed by her side as she slept and he even kept a protective paw on her to maintain connection as she slept. This is such an Aussie trait.

Most dogs don't do these things because we don't let them get that close, but Heather and Tux are well bonded. I wish we had clones of that dog; he's a true gem. If any dog can be said to have a precious-soul with a Texas-sized ache to please his owners, it is Tux.

Each week throughout my daughter's pregnancy, she and Henry have been posting creative, descriptive photos of each stage of pregnancy, which changes week to week; so it's been such fun each week to see what Heather will put on the chalkboard! But, the best part is to see her stand there with that belly growing because a little one is forming and growing for an eventual celebratory entrance into this world!

And believe me, both Henry's family and our family will definitely be celebrating across Texas! Our family will be especially excited because this baby will be our first grandchild and my dad's first great-grandchild, my grandmother's first great-great-grandchild, and Stefie's first niece or nephew...lots of "Firsts" for our family with this baby!

Heather is going to make a fabulous mother. She has waited for the "perfect" time to become a mother and her husband is going to make an AWESOME father. I can see Henry being more than the ordinary dad; he might be a big man at 6' 5", but he can be extremely lovable and tender...unless he is breaking a fist on someone's face who unfortunately tried to act inappropriate with Heather.

Hahahehe --- true story about that fist.

Anyway, that grandbaby floating around in there is more special to me than words can express. I could write every blog post about this baby. Our main cabin has even been designed around having grandchildren. Who does that?

As for the baby, we find out on April 13th whether it's a girl or boy! A friend of Heather's is throwing a "Reveal Party."

So, we will be finding out, very soon, if I will be SHOPPING for a baby girl or a baby boy!

However, my grandma-instinct tells me...IT'S A GIRL! :-) 

Even so, I just want a healthy baby and a healthy momma! Whether it's a boy or a girl, I will be the one going "Ga-Ga."

2013- Heather and Henry, Easter Day at
his parent's house.

This past week, we gave Heather some little treasures in the house that will go in the baby's room, which is themed with "antique" ocean decorations. Essentially, the ocean was Heather's second backyard while growing up.

Heather is Sweet Six and Stefie is Trouble-Three

Heather was raised in Bayside communities that included boating, fishing, kayaking, yachting on her Paw-Paws BIG BOAT, eating Seafood waterside, going to Kemah Boardwalk and enjoying Galveston's beaches.

Heather playing with Howdy on Galveston's
beach about three years ago. That dog could
be an Olympic medalist!

So, we gave Heather an authentic old wood boat paddle, sea-worn with faded blue paint. It is one of my favorite items in the world because my husband actually found it in the ocean while kayaking. It's the real deal. I'm so happy it will be used in the baby's room.

Heather and I enjoying a moment together at the beach.

Then, Heather got to have first choice out of two conch shells we had purchased YEARS AGO during a tour of the Bahamas with Heather and Stefie. We took a limo tour of the island, which was hysterical, and we also took several walking tours. During one of the walking tours, we came across an islander on the beach pulling conch shells out of the water. They were GORGEOUS.

I decided to buy two conch shells from the smiling man, one for each of my daughters. Thankfully, the Bahama-Beach-Man had removed the conch meat from the unpolished shells that were huge and gorgeous. Once we got back on the cruise-ship, we discovered that some of the passengers had purchased conch shells with rotting meat inside the shell. Lovely.

Shortly after our trip, it became illegal to take these shells off the island, so I suppose we were environmental pirates or whatever you want to call the horrible, terrible act we committed with such vast ignorance. The bottom line is, at that time, conch shells were still allowed to be purchased and leave the island, so that's what we did.

Heather and Stefie - fishing together.
Heather is our child that is known for
catching the most odd creatures...blow-fish,
pencil fish, squid, sting-ray...she catches them
on the end of her fishing pole!

As for those conch shells, they are becoming more and more rare, so we treasure the ones we have that were purchased right there on the beach in the Bahamas.

My grandbaby might grow up far inland, away from quick access to the beach and farther away from a life of being water-side on a regular basis, but the little one is blessed to have a mommy who is trying to bring a bit of ocean life to the baby. It is great for this little one to have more exposure beyond interior-countryside living because the baby's mother has Bayside culture weaved in her spirit.

As a mom, she is learning what it means to want to share beautiful experiences with your child. It's wonderful that the best parts of Heather's life will be included in her baby's world.

I'm sure Heather looks forward to the day when she can take her child to the beach. They will enjoy sitting together in the sand as a gentle surf washes up to bring happy smiles...and her child will finally understand what it is like to savor incoming waves, as if they are the steady heart-beat of another mother...mother earth.