Do you ever find yourself chugging along, going through the motions day after day, in the midst of routine, thinking you have figured out a few things? It seems I repeatedly find myself in this pattern. I think things through, put them into comfortable compartments in my brain and feel relatively secure about the way things are going in my life. And then - BAM! Life invariably catches me off guard. Because, after all (my husband likes to remind me), I don't know everything.

This week really threw me for a loop! (a really good loop) We've talked a lot about grandchildren, but seriously, that possibility seemed so distant; not a part of my reality at all. In fact, both of my daughters-in-law don't want children yet. They repeatedly remind us of this.

Thursday, we went to dinner with our oldest son, daugher-in-law and her parents (they also happen to be dear friends). We stay so busy that we haven't gotten to spend time with them in a while. After we finished eating, we lingered at the table, just enjoying the conversation. Our overly attentive waiter hovered throughout the meal, and I honestly thought he wanted us to finish up so he could seat another group.

Needless to say, I was mistaken - I see him coming with a beautiful cake and I'm wondering what the occasion is, looking around to see where the cake would go. Instead of going to another table, he came to ours, and we all sat in silence with looks of utter confusion on our faces. The words on the cake said something about graduation, or so I thought. I couldn't for the life of me figure out what was going on! Until our daughter-in-law turned the cake so both sets of parents could read the inscription - "Congratulations! You are going to be grandparents."

WOW! We sure didn't see that coming! I'll never forget not only the looks on our faces, but the look on her face - tears of joy and so much love, and how proud our son looked. My husband just couldn't quit crying. Precious. We thought it would be years before we experienced the joy of grandchildren, and SURPRISE! it was suddenly a reality. (it still doesn't feel real, though)

Now, do I have the sweetest kids, or what? Knowing that they carefully thought out how they would share the news with us, and coming up with that special of a plan means more to me than I can express. It was one of the sweetest moments of my life.

So, thank you sweet parents-to-be! I love you dearly!

I've heard being a grandparent is the greatest thing ever. Have any stories of your own to share? I can't wait to hear them!