Dad, 92, Holds Great-Granddaughter for 1st Time

Well, there are days, and then there are DAYS. Wow, what a day it was! It was a summer day straight out of a dream book. It was sunny and warm but breezy at times, a perfect day for our family reunion up at the camp.

My family gathers each July on the Sunday closest to my dad's mother's birthday. In the years when she was still with us, we called it "Grandma's party." Some of us still call it that. But it has sort of turned into a more general family reunion.

So my husband and I packed up our stuff, him with his wading shoes and me with my camera. And we set off for the wilds of Juniata County, for the rod and gun club where my dad and brother are members, no more than a mile from the house where I grew up.

We all brought amazing food, but the food would have to wait, for first is the hike up to the falls on Lost Creek, which is an annual tradition that many of us look forward to all year. When we get back, we feast. But first, the falls!

And so a handful of us kids walked up to the falls, and some of us took our shoes off and waded. This was always a beloved custom of my dear sister Barb who is in Heaven walking barefoot with Jesus now, and I remember her with every breath of my being: so many happy times, when we were together.

My cousin's daughter Amy and her husband have two children, a boy and a girl, and I was having fun watching them play in the water. First, Wyett crept along the edge, and I knew he was going right in. After him went his little sister Abby Jo. Fearless the way we little sisters are whose big brothers are just a step away.

There sat Abby on the edge, and then she slid, and PLOP! She dropped safely, right into her brother's waiting arms! I included this shot in the extras. Don't they look like they're getting ready to do some lifts in the lake? Aren't big brothers just grand?

And then somehow Abby hurt her foot, and she was talking to her mom, and showing her the boo-boo. Her mom told her to stick it back in the cold, cold water. "For the water here has healing properties," she said with a grin, looking at me. "Or at least that's what your big sister told me when *I* was little and hurt my foot." And the sweet memory of Barb made me smile: "For her, the water always DID have healing properties," I said back.

We finished up our visit to the falls and headed back to the camp, where a virtual feast awaited, including my Aunt Dorothy's much-coveted cauliflower and broccoli salad. We ate, we took pictures, and then my husband and I left to head down to my mom and dad's house to visit my mother for an hour or so before we needed to head home. Can you believe she still has on the butterfly tattoo that I gave her the last time I was there?

Now, I am going to be honest and tell you that the photo above is NOT my picture. It was taken by my brother's wife Cindy during a time when I was elsewhere. But when my brother sent me the photo on Facebook chat later in the evening, I loved it instantly!

So say hello to the newest little Colyer, Rio Josette, who was born on March 31. So she is not even 4 months old yet. (Josette, by the way, is for Joseph.) This is a picture of my dad, Lee Colyer, age 92, holding his great-granddaughter for the very first time!!!! It is also a red-letter date for this reason: they represent the oldest and the youngest members of our family* at this time in history.

When I got the picture on Facebook chat, I immediately began laughing out loud. "That's not how you hold a baby. That's how you hold a FISH!!!" I said, between giggles. But I am thrilled to have been there when it happened, even though I did not SEE it happen.

So I thank Cindy for giving me permission to post this wonderful, historic moment here! For the record, it was also MY first time holding this baby girl, and she is a sweet armful! She is indeed practically perfect in every way, and Auntie Certified (TM). (My husband, who does not typically feel at ease around babies, found this baby quite mellow, and welcomed her with a tiny fist-bump, which she returned.)

Now, I need some songs to go with this story. And I want a love song for the one above, of my dad with the newest little Colyer gal in his arms. Let's let it be this one, which I know both of my folks enjoy: Don Williams, with Till the Rivers All Run Dry. (That's how long we'll love you, baby girl!) Second is a song for the magic water that heals all things: Alison Krauss and Union Station, with Down to the River to Pray.

*This update provided by my little sister: Uncle Harvey is actually 2 weeks older than my dad. So I blew it on that. Thanks, fact checker sister!