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Published Sunday, October 05, 2008 in Close-Up

Call me Grandpa

You can call me Grandpa.

Or Granddaddy or Gramps or Papa or ... well, you get the idea. I have known for several weeks that our older daughter, Sallie, and her husband, Jim Kight, are expecting their first child -- and our first grandchild. Sallie and Jim told us in July but asked that we -- and his parents -- wait a bit before telling anyone else.

I don't think that was particularly hard for Lynn, who could carry any secret to the grave without blinking an eye, or for Jim Kight Sr., who doesn't have to say anything. The extra twinkle in his eyes should have told everybody that he is about to become a grandpa.

Clair Kight and I talked on the phone to share our excitement while we were still "keeping the secret." This will be the Kights first grandchild, too, and the first great-grandchild for my parents. While Lynn's mother has more than a dozen grandchildren, several greats and two-great-greats, she and Eleanor, Lynn's sister who lives with Grandmama, are also excited about the upcoming arrival of this special little one.

I told Clair, "We all just can't wait to get our hands on that little Kight baby."

The news was gradually rolled out -- the close family, then the more distant cousins. Jim announced his and Sallie's news on a recent Sunday at Mt. Zion, which elicited a spontaneous response of applause.

Waiting for a grandchild is different from expecting a child. Lynn and I were young parents -- not quite 22 when Sallie made her arrival. I well remember all the stages -- figuring out that we were going to be parents, Lynn's nausea in the early weeks, shopping for maternity clothes and fabric, baby showers and then finally our beautiful, perfect little girl.

So far, waiting for our Kight baby has been a quiet, yet ever present undercurrent in our lives. Lynn and I find ourselves talking about the baby at meals, riding in the car, just before we drop off to sleep. We wonder what he or she will look like and daydream about books we will read, adventures we will share.

Our thoughts often go back to Sallie and Jane as little ones -- their dainty softness, the sweet smell of their gently washed skin touched with lotion and powder. I remember how we marveled at the perfectly formed fingernails and toenails and how sweet it felt to rock them.

Jane has been -- as always -- Sallie's stalwart ally during these exciting days. She knew before Lynn and me and has her mother's gift for saying nothing when that is required. While Jane is busy with her own single, graduate student life in Athens, it is clear that she is as excited about becoming an aunt as any of us are in our own transformations.

My thoughts have also gone back to my grandparents. Granny Carney and Grand Daddy -- Granny always wrote the words separately and Daddy with a capital "D" -- were a regular part of my early life. There are some pictures of Granddaddy -- a strong man who farmed all his life -- dressed in his Sunday best and gingerly holding his first grandchild, me, in his lap.

Granny and Granddaddy Skinner lived in Savannah, so we didn't see them as much. Yet, each of the four gave me special gifts.

Grand Daddy Trammell expected us to do our best, but also wanted you to know he was there if you needed him. Granny wanted us to eat well, dress warmly and be safe -- she could be a worrywort at times -- but she also completely believed in us, that all of our dreams could -- and should -- come true.

She believed -- without any doubt -- that my brothers and our cousins were the smartest, best, most wonderful children on earth.

Granny Skinner had a love of daily living -- a good book, a fun movie, a crossword puzzle, takeout chicken, a cake just for the heck of it. She took me to see "Gone With the Wind" and toured Savannah historic sites with me in tow. Granddaddy Skinner was a quiet man with little education but a fun sense of humor. He gave to my brothers and me what he had already given our father -- love that was without condition.

Our little Kight baby will have lots of people to love him or her. I hope I can give that little one some love that will keep giving when I have become a memory.