Friday, May 20, 2011

3 Generations of Westons...

Bob Weston (new grandpa), Ben Weston (new dad), and introducing, Luke Isaiah Weston (born on Susan Weston’s 60th birthday).

On top of grueling swim workouts (still hoping to qualify for the London Olympics) and graduating from law school, Ben still managed to add “becoming a dad” to his busy schedule. Exciting news!

We love the Westons; they’ve been wonderful friends and it’s fun to look back on great La Jolla memories, especially their Bar (Ben) and Bat (Eve & Leah) Mitzvah celebrations.

Susan is like a wise older sister. I loved her response to my inquiry regarding their new role as grandparents. Susan said: “It’s a new arena and I think boundaries will be part of this next adventure.”

Boundaries? I’m embarrassed to admit that boundaries would not have even occurred to me! Luckily, Susan’s comment gave me pause and may have prevented a helicopter grandmother. My inclination would be more likely to smother my first grandchild ad nauseam. So, my children are fortunate that I have trailblazers like Susan to mentor me. Now I’ll be more aware of boundaries and more careful not to overstep them.

So, as always, Susan, is clever enough to know that there are limits, yes, even for grandparents. Especially, perhaps, as the paternal grandmother. And, it’s exactly Susan’s nature not to overstep or intrude on Ben and Carrie’s new little family unit.

Or, along this theme, here’s advice a Tao scholar gave parents on rearing their children: “Live your own life, with all your heart, and with all your mind, and with all your soul. There is no need to live theirs. They will do that wonderfully for themselves.” -William Martin