Do y’all remember the show “Little Bill”? My kids were huge fans of it and they were not huge fans of TV. It was an animated series based on Bill Cosby’s books, “Little Bill”. Little Bill used to call his grandmother Alice the Great. It was the most precious sound to hear him call her Alice the Great. I fell in love with that and decided then my grandmother’s name would be “Casie the Great” The funny thing is technically, she was his great-grandmother, which makes more sense, but I didn’t realize it until recently. I used to joke that when I became a grandmother, I wanted to be called Casie the Great. It was all in good fun, and I even teased that my future daughter-in-law would have to call me Casie the Great whenever she talked to me. Of course, that was just a big joke, and it was before Clara came into our lives.
Dealing with infertility is an incredibly tough, challenging, and heartbreaking journey. For the longest time, many of us kept our struggles silent because we didn’t feel comfortable sharing that part of our lives. However, these days I see so many young women bravely opening up about their struggles, not only to advocate for their own mental well-being but also to support others going through similar challenges. I distinctly remember a conversation I had with Clara early on in her relationship with my son. We were sitting on the porch (I did a lot of porch sitting during our caregiving phase), and she courageously shared her story of battling ovarian cancer. My heart went out to her because I knew the pain and fear she felt regarding her fertility. It reminded me of my own fears and experiences with miscarriage and infertility. I also shared Mary’s infertility journey since she was no longer able to share it herself due to her circumstances. These stories are meant to be shared, and they hold immense importance. Fortunately, both Mary’s and my story had a positive twist—we were blessed with babies in the end.
Mother’s Day
On Mother’s Day the kids gave me a book bouquet and a card. Obviously, you can tell I don’t realize I’m being recorded 😜. In this card, my heart stopped. I can not describe all of the feelings and emotions that flooded my brain in a glimpse of seconds. Well, here’s the video. I guess you need to watch it first.
Isn’t that great? I love that they included “Casie the Great” in the card. Y’all, I just can’t even. I told my friends that I knew once Dyson and Clara got married, they would not be preventing pregnancy because Clara’s journey was so unsure, but to not have the heartache, stress, and worry, after everything she had been through, I just can’t say it without being emotional. What a tremendous blessing of God’s grace and favor.
Jonathan and I have kept this to ourselves (sort of) until now. It’s been sheer torture. I’ve been so happy though. To know our legacy continues, and to know my son is going to be a daddy. Ah, it’s just the sweetest, most surreal thing ever. So, while y’all celebrate with us. Pray for this sweet family and a new blessing from the Lord. And I guess the most important thing is I need a grandmother name!
I’m loving this, Casie. It’s so special to me a mommy. I didn’t think we would have kids. I cried so much praying to God for a baby. So many disappointments!! We married June 17, 1971 and Rachel was born July 5, 1979. Kristin April 22, 1982, Justin July 15, 1984, Hannah June 9, 1988. Man did God pour out his blessings. We we’re fixing to adopt and something fell threw and I became pregnant with Rachel the next month. Now we have 14 grands and one great. Love you and your family. Wish you all the best with this precious grandbaby.