When Love Came to Town

I have fallen in love many times before. The most obvious, of course, is with the man who shares my life and keeps my Cuban crazy in check. I appreciate my husband, Eric so much for that.

And then there's always the day each of my four kids was born. Easy-peasy. There was no doubt that those love affairs would continue forever. (Except for the times when they make me crazy and I want to rip off their arms and beat them on the head, but that's sooo not important right now.)

But I wasn't ready for what happened to my heart when my grandsons were born. If you follow me on Instagram (martadarby), you will have undoubtedly witnessed the long distance love affair we have been enjoying with our grandson, Asher in Virginia (son of Adam & Alysha) who is almost 2. I am so grateful for the magic of Skype which keeps us connected.

Here's Asher. Please ignore the crazy grandparents in the corner...

3 weeks ago, my daughter, Amy gave birth to Sebastian Alexander Darby. (I like saying his full name. It feels very regal to me.)

Weighing in at 7 lbs. and 14 oz. he came crashing into the world and into our lives and we are completely smitten and beside ourselves with love for this incredible little creature.

Sebastian and Amy have been staying with us since his birth and our entire household has been turned upside down in the best and worst way possible.

Who knew that holding and staring would become our favorite thing to do?

It's times like these that make us stop and have BIG THOUGHTS.

About God and life and family and change and perfection and miracles.

A new baby brings so many challenges for the new mom, which Amy has impressively met in the most relaxed manner. But also, introducing this little person into our household has transformed us into (I hope) better people. I'm not just talking about the mountains of laundry which (full disclosure) I hate doing. And when I say I hate doing laundry, I mean hate-with-the-fire-of-a-thousand-suns hate.

And yet...

I have been doing multiple loads every day without so much as a tiny complaint. WHO AM I??

It's amazing to me that we, who are inherently selfish beings, are so ready to be stretched and to serve and do whatever is necessary to keep this guy comfortable and happy and meet his needs in whatever way we can.

Laundry? Bring it.

He seems to sleep better when he's held a little upright. I surprised myself with my willingness to hold him like this for hours so both he and mama could sleep. I don't even recognize myself in this scenario.

And just like that, after only a few days, we had forgotten what life was like Before Sebastian.

The proud grandfather. Call him 'PomPom.'

I have loved watching everyone in the family come to embrace him.

Amy introduces Sebastian (1 week old) to his great grandmother, Luza (102).

It just so happened that Adam was in town the first weekend we had him here and so I had the surreal pleasure of having all four of my kids and my newest grandson all together under one roof. I swear I was so crazy-happy I barely knew how to act. So I made a giant vat of my famous Carne con Papas. Because when in doubt, cook Cuban food.

My four kids: Adam, Lucy, Amy & Sebastian, Jon

As much as it's been an adjustment for all of us to have him here, Sebastian has been settling in to life at the Darby's.

Starting from the first day when his Cuban grandmother (that's me!) marched into the hospital with a brand new bottle of violetas and an azabache. Appreciate all that Cuban crazy right here.

He handled it like the little Cuban trooper he is.

This is what the "new normal" is like around here.

We are so in love and so delighted to have him with us. Sebastian Darby has become a special kind of glue that has kept us all in the best state of crazy-happiness.

And because we're Cuban, we had to choose his nickname right away. Call him 'Bash.'