One of our granddaughters texted me while I was at work today. She is 11. When you are 11 you are just you no matter what. You haven't crossed that gotta-be-fully-immersed-in-current-culture quite yet. She hasn't crossed that line and I hope she never does.

Blended families are an interesting dynamic. I gained this beautiful girl as a granddaughter when I married Doug almost 3 years ago. You have to find your footing upon entering a family that is already in place. Hailie and her sister don't call me grandma or memaw or anything grandma-ish. It's not that I don't think I am old enough or am not ready to be a grandmother. They already have two biological grandmas. I don't need to compete, take their place or force myself on her.
I can love her from the place of just being Nancy, or Aunt Nancy as her younger sister calls me. Whether I am Grandma, Aunt Nancy or just Nancy, I can give a piece of myself to invest in her life. I don't need a title to love or to be loved as is proof with most relationships. I love my friends not because they have the title of friends, but because of who they are and what I feel about them. Love is a title all its own.
I loved that she had texted me from her bed after a long day at school. I loved the picture of her smiling. I loved that she called Doug gramps. I loved that she said she missed me living closer to her. I loved that she was 11 and just was who she was. I loved in the basket of good things God gave me through Doug that Hailie was one of them.
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