Payton Dean Archibald

Although I usually just start blogging without any preparation, I made some scribbled notes yesterday about what I might blog about today. However, my plans have changed because of the arrival at l:30 this afternoon of our third great grandson—thanks to Tara and Brian Archibald, who have produced these three beautiful boys. (I have already seen Payton’s photo on Facebook thanks to his Aunt Erin!) Payton has managed in less than a day on this planet to change a good many folks’ plans for today. I can only imagine all the scrambling and plan changing that went on with the extended Archibald family in northern Illinois as they helped Tara and Brian.

Payton was scheduled to arrive one month from today on his mother’s birthday. His maternal grandmother Vickie already had all her arrangements made to be there then. Today Gerry, Vickie, and Geri Ann thought their afternoon would be focused on University of Georgia wining their fifth game of this weekend’s invitational softball tourney at Athens. They probably expected to be texting Tara and Erin scores and the progress on the softball game—not anxiously waiting to hear about a new baby boy in their lives. I am sure they had difficulty concentrating on softball. I can just see the smiles on their faces when they got the word Payton was here.

Yesterday evening Tara was happily writing on Facebook about the fun day at the zoo with little Aidan and Maddux—Payton’s older brothers. Not much older, in fact, since Aidan will not be four until May 31, the birthday he shares with his father. Maddux was one on December 9. I should be concerned about Tara and Brian managing with three sons that close together, and I am concerned. Nevertheless, they have demonstrated exceptional parenting skills with the first two, and I suspect they will be just as competent with Payton.

What was I going to write about today? Well, the exciting news that Gerald’s only sister Ernestine and her daughter Leah (whom we still call by her baby name Leah Dawn), and Leah’s baby girl are coming from Rock Springs, Wyoming, on April 1. That was big news, but Payton upstaged them.

I was also going to write about Gerald and Leslie visiting our friends Don and Helen Ruth Dillow down in McKinney, Texas, where they have gone on Les’ spring break from Belmont to explore seminaries there as she considers that possibility for graduate school in a couple of years. They’ll also be visiting Gerald’s special phone buddy Bobby Sanders, who moved from our village many years ago but remains a close friend. Finally, they are going over for a quick visit with Erin at College Station before they return to Woodsong, where Leslie’s car is waiting for her in our garage. I thought all this was big news, but Payton’s arrival made all our phone conversations be about that and not Texas.

And I had jotted down some end-of-the-week pleasantries, such as watching 89-year-old Pearl Stearns paint a lovely painting at a club meeting Friday afternoon. With her easel set up holding the small photo of a lighthouse on the ocean as her inspiration, she talked a bit about the Famous Artists correspondence course she started once—but which was interrupted by the birth of a baby who had colic for the next six months. (Babies certainly do change our agendas.) By the end of the meeting, the canvas was lovely with blue ocean surrounded by mountains and the wooded area amazingly realistic. And I was going to share my delight at having coffee with Leslie as we sat together at the dining room table and she told me about the various activities she’s involved with at Belmont and her plans for the summer, where she will be teaching music and drama at a children’s camp focused on the arts. Oh, all kinds of pleasant things have happened, but nothing as exciting and welcome as the safe arrival of Payton Dean Archibald.